Canadians choose winter tires as top pick for road safety this season

With winter around the corner, Canadians need to shift gears and get ready for the challenging winter driving conditions ahead. Along with reducing speed and maintaining proper visibility, it's important to ensure vehicles are equipped with the best technology when it comes to staying safe on winter streets.

According to a Michelin survey, half of Canadians (50%), and 75% of Quebecers, cite winter tires as their technology of choice for feeling safe on the roads this season. Tires were the overwhelming choice over other technologies like fourwheel drive (32% for Canadians and 16% for Quebecers) and anti-lock brakes (18% for Canadians and 8% for Quebecers).

"Changing your tires, just as you change your wardrobe for the season, is critical for navigating winter roads," said Normand Latrémouille, winter segment marketing manager for Michelin North America. "Unlike allseason tires, winter tires are engineered to provide the best possible grip on dry and wet pavement during winter, not just on snow, slush or ice-covered roads."

Slow down in the snow

The survey also showed that Canadians need to slow down in snowy and icy driving conditions. Specifically, 61% of Canadians and 55% of Quebecers said they are most bothered by others who drive too quickly on winter roads.

But when asked what poor driving habits they personally are guilty of, not surprisingly, the majority of Canadians surveyed preferred to point fingers at others rather than admit their own wrongdoing! Over half of respondents (54% of Canadians and 63% of Quebecers) did not admit to being guilty of hazardous winter driving habits, such as driving too quickly, too slowly or without clearing snow off their vehicle.

To help stay safe this winter, the Rubber Association of Canada and Transport Canada recommend installing four winter tires with the same tread pattern and encourage consumers to watch for tire wear, which can reduce road traction. Most importantly, consumers need to make the switch from all-season tires to winter tires in the fall, before the first snowfall hits.

"Even if there is no snow on the ground, the rubber of an all-season tire starts to harden at temperatures of 7 degrees Celsius, whereas the softer rubber compound of winter tires can perform in temperatures as cold as - 40 degrees Celsius," added Latrémouille. "When the snow and ice does arrive, winter tires also have tread patterns and sipes - small grooves that cross larger tread blocks - designed

specifically to push water aside and dig down through snow to the road surface, maximizing your ability to start, turn and stop."

For a tire Canadians can count on, the Michelin XIce delivers.

Michelin X-IceTM tires are equipped with Adaptive Progressive Stiffness (APS) technology. This unique regenerating soft rubber compound offers extreme gripping power on snow-covered and icy road surfaces. The tread remains soft as the tire continues to wear, allowing for optimal ice and snow

traction. The tread compound also features the most advanced generation of silica rubber, further adding to the tire's ice and snow grip, and offering enhanced performance on wet surfaces as well as longer tread life.

Dedicated to the improvement of sustainable mobility, Michelin designs, manufactures and sells tires for every type of vehicle, including airplanes, automobiles, bicycles, earthmovers, farm equipment, heavy-duty trucks, motorcycles and the space shuttle. The company

also publishes travel guides, hotel and restaurant guides, maps and road atlases. Headquartered in Laval, Quebec, Michelin North America (Canada) Inc. (www.michelin.ca) employs 3,800 and operates 3 manufacturing plants.

Michelin products are available at Sheardown Auto Tire and Glass in Bolton, 905-857-2200.

Random Fact

U.S. motorists use roughly 200 billion gallons of fuel in their vehicles annually.