Almost Time For A Change

   Last year, for the first time ever, I bought winter tires. And I'm glad I did. Up until last winter, I'd been using all-season radials, but decided to bite the bullet since I was still commuting weekends between Yorkton and Regina. And, at least in my case, they made a difference, even around town.
   I bring this up, because in Manitoba, provincial insurance company MPI is offering 48 month term loans of up to 2 thousand dollars at prime plus 2% for anyone wanting to buy and install snowflake stamped winter treads. So far, 64 hundred people have applied.
   The rationale is simple. Winter tires are better in the cold and snow, and may help prevent accidents which would cost MPI more for settling claims etc. Other jurisdictions are a little more strict when it comes to their use. In Quebec for example, winter tires are mandatory.
   A check with Saskatchewan's provincial insurance company SGI shows a similar low cost loan program is not being made available. At least, not in the foreseeable future. Officials say they'll look at the numbers from the Manitoba program, which started this year, and do some number crunching before making a decision one way or other to see if the benefits would outweigh the costs.
   Right now in Saskatchewan, winter tire use is nor mandatory, and the government (last time I checked anyway) was not looking to make it so.
   Should the use of winter tires be mandated? Should the provinces help with a low cost loan to have them bought and installed? I don't know. In jurisdictions where there's provincial insurance, like Saskatchewan and Manitoba, having such a scheme would be a lot easier to run that province's where it's all private companies, like Alberta and Ontario. In those areas, who would pick up the tab? Other subscribers? And until we have substantive data on costs, and comparative numbers on issues like collisions with and without winter skins, I don't think I can make a call one way or the other.

TTFN