| OCR Text |
Show Studded Tires Are Legal in Utah Although studded tires may legally be used on Utah highways high-ways from October 15th through March 31st, Utah motorists may question wheather it's worth the extra cost and tax to purchase them. Tests conducted by Damas and Smith Ltd.. for the Canadian Safety Council show that studded snow tires provide significantly better starting and stopping traction than conventional snow tires only on glare ice at temperatures near 30 degrees. At zero degrees, the advantage of studded tires disappears because the ice is much harder and is able to resist penetration from studs. Ice conditions prevail on Utah highways only one percent of the time. On snowpacked roads, conventional snow tires virtually vir-tually equal the traction of studded (ires, and snow covered conditions prevail on Utah highways only live percent per-cent of the time. On wet or dry pavements-highway pavements-highway conditions which prevail about 94 percent of the time in Utah-conventional snow tires outperform their studded counterparts in stopping vehicles, especially on concrete surfaces. Stopping distances with studded tires actually increase. On the basis of the Canadian safety Council study, Utah motorists would do well to reexamine re-examine the driving conditions in their area to see if studded tires are actually needed. If ice conditions are not frequent, they may find the extra cost of studded tires exceeds the benefit. Incidentally, the Federal Highway Administration has taken a strong position against studded tires and is suggesting that they be banned by state governaments. The FHWA is concerned about the excessive highway wear caused by studs and the safety problems associated with that wear. |
