Snow Chains
Snow chains are an added measure of safety for tires, providing extra traction for mainly trucks and buses, so that they can get a strong and firm grip on the road when there is snow and/or ice on the pavement. However, snow chains can be used by any vehicle, but there are many roads where they are not allowed, and drivers should be aware of these restrictions before using snow chains. Knowing when to use snow chains can save drivers from irrecoverable visits to overly large snow banks and rather deep ditches filled with snow, and accidents as well.The average car or minivan should rarely need snow chains, since driving slowly with properly inflated snow tires in good condition (with very good treads) should provide more than adequate safety and traction on the snow covered roads. There are, however, laws, in many States and Canadian Provinces, that outlaw the use of tire chains on civilian vehicles, and in residential areas.Snow chains should be used on dirt and gravel roads, like in cottage country, when they are covered with hard packed snow and/or a healthy whopping of fresh snow. Hard packed snow can be very hard to drive in, as the ruts that form by tires can harden and force a tire to follow a predetermined path. When that path coincides with an oncoming vehicle’s path, accidents can be unavoidable. Snow chains will give vehicles the traction that they need to get out of these ruts, as well as to stick to the roads even when packed with hard snow, or ice covered snow.For steeper hills, eighteen wheel transport trucks need to have chains in the drive wheels so that they do not lose traction and start to spin, possibly sending the entire truck backwards in a most likely uncontrollable spin. When pulling heavy loads on roads with deep ruts in hard packed snow, or snow drifts on the road, heavy trucks can easily lose traction and go out of control. Snow chains give them the added control that their tires can not provide at times.Snow chains will destroy a paved road when a lot of vehicles use them, and the use of the chains is mainly for big trucks carrying heavy loads on snow-packed roads with curving hills. There are two classifications of when to use snow chains; civilian vehicles and transport vehicles. Transport vehicles covers everything from 18 wheelers to dump trucks and cube vans.During the winter months, when driving in areas that have high amounts of snow on the ground, civilian vehicles can use snow chains in mountainous areas, especially near ski resorts or ungraded roads, as well as on the side roads, and those roads that are not frequently plowed by their respective municipalities. Drivers should only use snow chains for the segments of roads that require them, and these roads should be marked by seasonal signs as being roads that allow snow chains.Snow chains are meant for short distances, and should be put on when they are necessary, and taken off as soon as they are no longer needed. They cause damage to the roads as well as to the tires on the vehicles using them.
