EVERY WINTER we see videos and news reports showing the mayhem caused by ICE STORMS and all the motor vehicles, mainly cars sliding helplessly down ice covered pavements until they are "STOPPED" by crashing or bumping into another vehicle, a tree or guardrail. Climate change is bringing MORE and MORE of these heavy winter storms to our cities and suburbs coast to coast.
Municipal government's ONLY response is to drench the roads with rock salt and salty 'brine' slurry both of which cost lots of public money AND CAUSE PAVEMENT WEAR AND TEAR as well as damage to agriculture and roadside plants. Why then is the government STILL BANNING tire makers from adding steel "studs" to SNOW tires ?? The studs enable motorist's tires to grip onto ice covered pavements and remain in control of their vehicles. That doesn't seem like such a bad idea to me when compared to playing mass 'bumper cars' whenever the sleet comes to town!
The argument against TIRE STUDS was I believe, that they tore up asphalt and damaged pavements where the snow and ice was not present. But that was back in the 1970's when EXTREME weather happened once a decade or so and the pavement "damage" was more of a nuisance than the weather or the road salting at the time.
Besides with all the technology changes since then I'm sure studded tires could be MARKED and regulated so they aren't used except at NECESSARY times and places. Or maybe studded tires could be redesigned with some sort of "smart" tech so they worked only when 'needed' ??
In any case it seems to me that the overall costs of pre-treating pavements and salting as well as the social costs of multiple collisions, economic disruptions and so on that NOW OCCUR with increasing severity and frequency each winter ARGUE FOR REINSTATING STUDDED TIRES for limited legal use !!
The only OTHER "sensible" option would be to carry an old engine block in the back of a vehicle (Pickup truck) so when the tires begin spinning "push" it out the back to act like a boat ANCHOR !!
Or make small hydraulic "legs" with steel spike "feet" that can drop from the bottom of a vehicle to the street temporarily 'replacing' the vehicle's tires with LEGS gripping the ice slicked pavement 'till it stops it from motion !! (preventing a collision entirely !!)
I wonder what the Insurance Institute would think about this ???
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