2009 Season Opening

17 vehicles pile-up on HWY416 in the early hours of December 14 - would the fog and the icy condition be adequate explanation for what had happened. Miraculously none of 60 people involved got seriously hurt. Good coverage provided by the Ottawa Citizen, including massive commenting by those who happened to be inside the mess gives you good prospective on driver's behavior and performance of their tires.

There were drivers who due to the higher quality winter tires had managed to escape rear ending, but got rear ended by some less fortunate drivers. As a wise Ontarian said, the cheapest winter tires beat the most expensive performance tires in winter driving conditions.

Braking distance comparison chart, source Government of Ontario.

Winter tires reduce the braking distance by 25%, as has been scientifically proven by the Quebec Government. From the first hand experience of using a various tires thorough the years, I can say this number grows significantly as the quality of the tires increases. So does your chance to survive on the highway.

Fragment of the photo by David Gonczol, The Ottawa Citizen.

Have a look at the Ottawa Citizen photo gallery of a HWY416 accident scene in Ottawa Citizen if you are still not convinced that winter tires are mandatory in Ontario. Don't wait for Mr. McGuinty to tell you so. Be smart for your live's sake.