Last week H. Bruce Miller showed his ignorance of Pacific Northwest road conditions. I would suggest that he spend some time walking or cycling around Bend in the wintertime. Often in the morning of perfectly nice snowless days there are large patches of black ice. I see them regularly.
If someone chooses to use studded snow tires and it helps them to not run me over, I thank them.
Mr. Miller’s simplistic assumption that our weather and road bases are the same as anywhere else dispels ODOT and all the others that understand science as complete idiots. Mr. Miller, can you explain why our frost line is so much shallower than places that are even warmer than here? Probably not. Have you ever wondered why we have no signs warning us that the bridges freeze before the normal road surface, as seen in other regions? Probably not. Have you ever noticed that we might have warm moist gigantic Pacific air competing with Canadian cold air? (I’m not blaming the Canadians). Have you ever looked at a globe? Have you ever wondered about the complex rubber compounds of tires? Have you ever wondered why ODOT paints lines on the roads when we just survived a week without seeing the lines? I, like Bruce Miller, have also enjoyed several winters in the interior Blue States and east coast and it is different than here.
If someone chooses to spend the equivalent of their insurance deductible on good snow tires that also have studs before they have to spend it on your repair or hospital bill, you should be grateful. Please Mr. Miller, do some more research in meteorology, physics, geography, geology, geometry, chemistry, economics and responsible types of behavior before writing more on this matter. Your English is fine.
Paul Biskup, Bend
This article appears in Jan 8-14, 2009.
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I agree with Mr. Miller and have said for years that studs are not needed on a daily basis in this area and particularly in The Willamette Valley where, yes, even those residents will drive on the bare pavement with studs.
I often wonder if it isn’t a huge Les Schwaub conspiracy of sorts…..
Keep the big wheels turning….
You’ve convinced me. Although I’ve lived here for more than 23 years I never realized that Oregon ice is slipperier than the ice anywhere else. Things really ARE different here.
Yes, we get widely variable road conditions–often in the same trip–which is why studless winter tires work so well. They are very versatile and when matched to the vehicle outperform studs in all but the most extreme conditions, without tearing up the road and generating noise. A few areas in the world, mostly in high latitudes near the coast, can benefit from studs because of persistent ice, but Central Oregon is not one of them. Diehard stud advocates should try a good set of studless tires and then offer an educated opinion. And we all should learn how to drive in the winter.
Whew! That was the best falling off my chair and busting my ass belly (I don’t have one) laugh I’ve had this year. I actually had to wait a day to respond.
Paul, I have been around here for fifty-something years, my family over a hundred, and I, personally, been driving around here for over forty years. You don’t know what you’re talking about.
Shut. The F_ck. Up.
Tell you what, you pick up my tab for the eleven million dollars a year damage you’re doing to the roads, and I’ll Shut. The F_ck. Up.
i’ve ended up at the conclusion that studless winter tires are the way to go. it is the rubber compound that is most important, not a few tiny little bits of metal trying to stop thousands of pounds of inertia. my studless winter tires work great.