Photo: travelers.com
No one does it better than you. It’s understandable: showing distrust towards other people’s ability to perform the same task as you is human nature. American drivers play into the stereotype, with 9 out of 10 not trusting other drivers in winter conditions.
Paradoxically, though, they don’t trust themselves either.
A new study commissioned by Discount Tire and conducted by OnePoll reveals the large degree of mistrust in other drivers’ skills in winter conditions, Business Insider reports. Around 2,000 drivers took part in the survey and 91 percent of them said they wouldn’t trust their life into someone else’s hands in winter.
That includes their loved ones: 23 percent said they would avoid catching a ride with a family member or a friend if the roads were snowy or slick. Ironically, around 59 percent say they’re less confident driving in winter than they are in the rest of the year.
Driver confidence, the survey has found, is weather dependent. For instance, 90 percent are confident driving in the rain,76 percent are ok with driving in sleet or snow, and only 55 percent are confident driving with ice on the road.
Winter seems to deter most drivers from getting behind the wheel. Around a fifth of respondents report having been in an accident as a result of winter conditions, 48 percent deliberately avoided running errands or going out for the same reason, and 44 percent avoided taking a long drive.
Getting your tires checked and using winter tires is one way to boost your confidence, Tom Williams, senior vice president of customer experience at Discount Tire, says. It’s also the common sense option, we might add.
“At 45 degrees and below, all-season tires start to lose traction and grip on the road – that's when we recommend using winter tires,” Williams explains. “The tread rubber of an all-season tire stiffens in extreme cold and becomes less able to provide sufficient traction, whereas winter tires have softer rubber and thousands of extra traction edges to maintain contact with the road.”
A new study commissioned by Discount Tire and conducted by OnePoll reveals the large degree of mistrust in other drivers’ skills in winter conditions, Business Insider reports. Around 2,000 drivers took part in the survey and 91 percent of them said they wouldn’t trust their life into someone else’s hands in winter.
That includes their loved ones: 23 percent said they would avoid catching a ride with a family member or a friend if the roads were snowy or slick. Ironically, around 59 percent say they’re less confident driving in winter than they are in the rest of the year.
Driver confidence, the survey has found, is weather dependent. For instance, 90 percent are confident driving in the rain,76 percent are ok with driving in sleet or snow, and only 55 percent are confident driving with ice on the road.
Winter seems to deter most drivers from getting behind the wheel. Around a fifth of respondents report having been in an accident as a result of winter conditions, 48 percent deliberately avoided running errands or going out for the same reason, and 44 percent avoided taking a long drive.
Getting your tires checked and using winter tires is one way to boost your confidence, Tom Williams, senior vice president of customer experience at Discount Tire, says. It’s also the common sense option, we might add.
“At 45 degrees and below, all-season tires start to lose traction and grip on the road – that's when we recommend using winter tires,” Williams explains. “The tread rubber of an all-season tire stiffens in extreme cold and becomes less able to provide sufficient traction, whereas winter tires have softer rubber and thousands of extra traction edges to maintain contact with the road.”
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