#1 Reason for Cars being stuck in the snow?

[morty]

0.5 cm of snow is a lot isnt it?

[weebl]

I kept hearing that, so I went to Wal-Mart last fall and got a set of Magna-Grips for my Saturn, only to be dissapointed when they would spin just as bad as all-seasons on ice (I guess they're studdable for a reason, maybe I should have got some installed).  Then the big dump of snow came in March and I was driving circles around everyone and I finally understood what the big deal was.

I think that statement is more to make a point than it is true.  In any case, winter or summer, you want to buy good quality tires.  And in may casses, a good quality winter tire can cost less than the summer tire for the same car - if you are able to on your vehicle and willing to do so, you can usually minus size onto cheap steel wheels, and often the whole winter wheel/tire assembly can cost less than just the summer tires alone.

[safristi]

  YOU speak with FORKED NO TONGUE.....how dya do dat !!! .....

[dorin]

I kept hearing that, so I went to Wal-Mart last fall and got a set of Magna-Grips for my Saturn, only to be dissapointed when they would spin just as bad as all-seasons on ice (I guess they're studdable for a reason, maybe I should have got some installed).  Then the big dump of snow came in March and I was driving circles around everyone and I finally understood what the big deal was.

Are these the Magna-Grip tires you're talking about?  If so, it seems like a cheap, old design which isn't siped enough to be good on ice.  You do get what you pay for.

[mrthompson]

I'm quite sure those are the ones.....Kelly Springfield.  I briefly considered them a few years ago...then bought something better for about the same price.

[MapleJames]

Definately the driver.

A good driver can not get stuck in many cars that aren't designed for snow.
A bad driver can put their SUV in the ditch

[safristi]

Smart risk management would be to take public trans on a SNOW DAY...or go in late after the rush/accident hour or BEST....take a mental health day.....and snow yer boss.................... ..but most folk are such lemmings they wanna risk their insurance rating ta brag at the water cooler how "THEY MADE IT IN!!!!!"......despite.........20 inches a snow....4 inches a rain.......whiteouts...........hurricanes.....dense fog..........IDJITS...............I've cross country skied to work
 on bad snow days...BUT THEN ICE CREAM SALESMEN ARE ESSENTIAL !!!!!!!

[Panzer]

Definately the driver.

A good driver can not get stuck in many cars that aren't designed for snow.
A bad driver can put their SUV in the ditch

 

Big time.

Winter tires do make a more-than-noticeable difference but ultimately, it's the driver that makes or breaks it.  A few years back, I drove through the ice storm here in rural Ottawa in a Chevy Sprint with 12" all-season tires without any problems, and the same went for our unplowed morning roads every single year.  People should pay more attention to how their vehicles react when they're sliding and what to do next in order to recover instead of buying winter tires and assume everything'll be like summer.

[Titanium48]

Are these the Magna-Grip tires you're talking about?  If so, it seems like a cheap, old design which isn't siped enough to be good on ice.  You do get what you pay for.

Yup, those are the ones.  They were cheap ($320 for the set of 185/70R14 including balancing and all taxes) and they do handle both fresh and packed snow very well despite being mediocre at best on ice.  Unfortunately when I had them taken off I discovered some incompetant at Wal-mart had given me 3 185/70R14 and 1 195/70R14.  I can't believe never noticed that all winter, I even rotated them myself in January!  Wal-mart refunded the wrong sized one so I might be looking for a pair of better ones come fall.

[mrthompson]

Les incompetents! 

[1morelap]

set o' blizzhackzz and she's all good.