Cheap Insurance Tip
Posted on 11/22/2022 by Erik H. Reisner
I’ll never forget a saying my father shared many, many years ago: “Good tires are cheap insurance.” As a teenager at the time, I didn’t understand much about tires or insurance for that matter. I was just a kid living in New Jersey that loved our trips to Vermont to go skiing. We would make the trek from NJ to the Mad River Valley every other weekend all winter long to ski at Sugarbush and Mad River Glen. My dad had a front-wheel drive Buick Riviera and every winter he would have snow tires installed. At the time I didn’t understand why…
Now after living here for almost half of my life, and +/- 15 years of being a first responder for the Mad River Valley Ambulance Service, I truly understand why “good tires are cheap insurance.” Cars and SUVs have come a long way with traction control, all-wheel-drive, ABS, etc… Tire technology has also come a long way, but I’m here to tell you that “all-season” tires are not good for “all seasons” in Vermont. All of the new tech in cars, trucks, and SUVs is great, but it won’t guarantee you traction in bad winter conditions, and all-wheel-drive doesn’t equal all-wheel stop!
Snow tires, studded or not, are made of a rubber compound that remains soft and “sticky” in lower temperatures, whereas “all-season” tires have a rubber compound that gets more firm as the temperature drops. Snow tires also have grooves cut into the tire called “sipes” that provide more grip driving over snow and ice.
How are snow tires “cheap insurance?” It’s actually quite simple. Having a dedicated set of snow tires for the winter season will increase the life of your “all-season” tires, so they won’t have to be replaced as often. More importantly, a good set of snow tires are likely less expensive than your insurance deductible and decrease in value of your vehicle if you happen to have an accident due to bad road conditions.
The latest and greatest all-wheel-drive cars, trucks, and SUVS are no match against bad weather in Vermont. Good tires are indeed cheap insurance. Be safe out there and LET IT SNOW!
