Letter To The Editor: Tire Law Is Ridiculous

A letter to the editor culled from a local newspaper. My own comments in red.

"Somebody in Quebec City decreed I must spend $824 plus over $119 in taxes (yeah, that's what it cost me) for snow tires.

Nearly $120 in taxes! The government is profiteering from its own laws. Talk about adding insult to injury.

All this during an economic downturn!

Not only that, the police continues to exaggerate its crackdown on citizens for traffic violations.

A basic management principle is that for maximum efficiency and lowest possible cost, decisions should be taken at the lowest possible level. I think I know better than my government whether I need snow tires. (All my driving is in the city and major highways where all-season tires are perfectly good).

But my fellow Quebecer, the decision making power you want is no longer acceptable in Canada. Wait until the NDP get their interventionist hands in your pockets.

What will the government do about drivers from outside the province who come here on all-season tires? Ticket them? Ignore them?

What will happen next spring? A vast majority can't afford to (or won't) spend the money to change tires and will drive on their winter ones all summer, wearing them out and turning them into "all-seasons" tires - or worse - for next winter, which is all legal and brings us back to where we were before this law."

A.B, DDO/Montreal.

It's a law that won't achieve it's stated goals. All it'll do is irritate citizens. I own a 4x4 with all-seasons. I have absolutely NO PROBLEM with them. In fact, I get better traction than cars with winter tires. But somehow my better judgment has been eliminated. Not only that, the government has impacted my household budget at a time many people could have done without it.

It's not bad tires the problem. It's bad drivers.