In the province of Quebec, where it’s mandated by law, 97 per cent of drivers are compliant. Surprisingly, Atlantic Canada ranks second after Quebec for winter tire use (86 per cent) and the Prairies, notorious for bad winters, ranked highest, next to British Columbia, for not using winter tires.
There seems to be confusion over when to switch to winter tires, 42 per cent didn’t know to switch when temperatures drop to seven degrees Celsius. Four in 10 Canadians (36 per cent) don’t use winter tires at all and 68 per cent don’t know the most important factor in tire safety (tire pressure). It was also found that 60 per cent of drivers do not check tire pressure frequently enough.
“The tire’s air pressure is the most important safety consideration – no matter what time of year it is because your tires keep your car on the road,” says Jeff Bullock, a tire expert at Hankook Tire and 33 year industry veteran. “If you don’t check the pressure, you don’t know tires are low and low tires can lead to serious vehicle safety issues.”
When it comes to checking tire pressure, the worst offenders were in Quebec, with 68 per cent not checking frequently enough and 11 per cent never checking. With age comes wisdom. Canadians over the age of 55 were most likely to correctly state tire pressure as the most important factor in tire safety. Tire pressure is the main factor that affects tire performance and should be checked monthly, something Canadians are not currently doing.
More information on winter tires is available at www.hankooktire.ca.