The Snow Storm And What The Hell?

I feel for the folks back east having to deal with the storm. HOWEVER----on all the news shows over the last couple of nights, scenes of cars sliding, colliding and generally going nowhere, all over the areas affected. Now--I have to ask--aren't there stores where TIRE CHAINS are available??The only chains I saw were on a fire department truck. The people were warned that the storm was coming-----what in the world would deter them from buying TIRE CHAINS?? Anyone?

 

Maybe they needed to wait on pay day?

 

It's a mystery to me. Up here, most everyone keeps chains , cables or has an extra set of tires that are studded and in a certain month, they can be installed. And we get nothing
like you folks back there are getting. ??????????????????????????

 

I live in the hilly city of pissburgh ,, tire chains are for buses, garbage trucks, fire and ambulance, towing services ... very rare to see them on anything else, studded tires are sometimes on general population but not always. I see people driving with bald tires all the time. these are the super idiots we see on roads .. just not everyone can afford to swap their tires out for snow tires, my job is on one the steepest of hills .. not having snow tires on a front wheel drive is suicide..

 

I have chains for my jeep, and cable chains for my car. I never got any for my wife's car because she won't leave the house when the roads are bad. I've only had the chains on my jeep once. I had to get to work and the roads had frozen over night.

We rarely have really bad snow and ice - maybe once every two or three years. For most people here, it's not worth the money to buy chains, and leaving the house is not worth the trouble of putting on and taking off chains.

There have been a bunch of wrecks around here. Maybe the people involved will feel that chains are worth the trouble and money now.

 

Studded tires are illegal in my state. I have some fairly aggressive tires on my Jeep. If it got so bad that I can't get around in my Jeep (never....really)....I'm just staying home.

 

I haven't seen studded tires since I was a kid. I didn't know people could still get studs put in tires.

 

Here, in Atlanta, my dad had snow chains back in the 60's.

I've never seen or heard of anybody else having them here.

 

Right? It's a one time purchase. You buy them, throw them in your truck and forget them. Then when a storm like this comes along---you would find yourself cruising by all the cars slipping and sliding, when you nonchalantly cruise on home. What do they cost? 20 bucks--30 bucks? Not a life changing investment ,IMO.

 

Ditto, I don't know anyone here who uses snow chains, and I've never seen them either.

Most people just stay put during harsh snow. It seems much more sensible, since even if you have chains, you can't control the driving of people who don't.

 

studded tires are legal here

no one ever uses chains...newer cars are not designed for them and owners are too stupid to know how to use them anyway


well actually there are people that use chains but thats for plow trucks or farm vehicles that never leave private property

 

(post 9--trunk instead of truck. Edit sucks sometimes)

 

I looked on line and seems like you can get a pair of chains for about $30

 

Have to disagree that newer cars are not designed for them. Now, I don't go to Walmart , but they have chains that are even returnable if not used. Tire stores have them. A wheel is a wheel and chains are made in different lengths, widths, ect, to fit each individual car.

No one has yet explained --why not invest in a set/s of chains in case -for example-you're stuck at home and NEED to go out for any of a number of reasons. OK. I guess that's just the way it is back in the boondocks where commodities are scarce.

 

I probably wouldn't have chains or cables if my job wasn't a job in which you have to relieve the person on the previous shift.

I had to get cable chains for my car. You're definitely right about chains not fitting -not enough clearance. They don't last as long as chains(from what I hear), but they are much easier to put on and take off than chains. I've only put them on once to practice doing it, so I don't know how well they perform.

 

I wouldnt use chains because I have a front wheel drive with snow tires .. I drive in the heaviest of snow without problems.

 

I just don't go anywhere when it snows or the roads are icy. It happens maybe once a year here and usually melts within a day or two. I'm cool with staying put that long.

Everything shuts down here when it snows. The only people who really need to drive are first responders, nurses and doctors, and line workers.

 

Doughnuts to a dollar, someone, somewhere, has put chains on the wrong wheels---back tires with front wheel drive.

If you guys are right about chains actually NOT fitting on some cars--that would be a new one on me.

 

Can they be used with front wheel drive? I've never seen that done.

There's nowhere to drive around here. Everything is closed, except for a couple of pharmacies and some fast food. Our Jeep is snoozing in the garage.

 

Yeah, when I was ordering some for my nissan, the only thing I could get was cables. The manufacturer's site stated that some cars didn't have clearance for chains. I guess if you made a sharp turn,the chains would eat into your fender well.