BC snow tire regulation

I know personally more than a few RCMP. Their worst day is driving up and finding dead people.... they now have to contact the next of kin, as well they have to take it home in thier heads for the rest of thier lives.... all because someone didn’t follow the law/ rules.
Again I say... tires are cheap.
You don’t need “ winter tires” all you require are Mud & Snow ( M/S) to be safe, and legal on B.C. Hwys for the type of vehicle in question. My 2017 GMC 3500 came equipped with M/S from the dealer..... there are not hard to find.
I would hate to think for the rest of my life, because I was to cheap ( because that’s what it really comes down to) to have the correct tires on my rig, and that I caused a crash that someone got hurt or worse KILLED...
Tires are cheap...
Soup.

SideHillSoup I saw a similar situation near the old toll booth site on the Coq. Two young fellows with their car in the ditch, all season tires and no survival gear. They were going upcountry skiing and had never driven on snow. I gave them a ride to Hope so they could call a tow truck, no cell service at our location.
The police are quite strict about enforcing the regulations for good reason. They spend a lot of time dealing with wrecks and tranded travelers.

JaxDad wrote:
It's not just the Coquihala, the new regs are province-wide on designated highways, most highways are designated.

Their website though seems to say that EITHER tires with the "snowflake symbol" OR "M + S" tires are acceptable. See below.


Clicky.

I run Winterguard's year around (3 snowflakes) down here in Michigan. Noisy but great winter traction and in summer rain too. I love them.

It’s not just the Couq, Hwy, it’s 98% of BC fall under those tire rules. The only area Hwys that don’t, are the lower mainland and parts of Vancouver island. Also the Couq has more RCMP patrolling that road than any other road I’ve seen in B.C., so better chance of them having a tire check point there than anywhere.
The snow tire or M/S tires regs are there for a reason, and this past spring they made the regs run until the end of March, because of spring snow storms.
What type of tires do you have on your truck, My new truck came with M/S tires from the dealership in 2017.
I have seen the RCMP turn people around without the correct tires on their vehicle. Two winters ago I saw one young guy from the lower mainland who somehow made it all the way to the west entrance of Kootenay Pass. His car was lowered and had the tires with little to no sidewalks... well his car got parked and towed. I asked the RCMP about what was going on when I got to the front of the line. He said the young mans car is unsafe to drive any further and is going to be towed to a yard and would not be released until he had proper tires for winter driving, or April 1st, which ever came first... he grinned...

The biggest thing to remember, if you have an accident and you don’t have the correct tires on, your insurance may be null and void, and you could “possibly” be responsible for costs out of pocket etc...and god for bid someone gets hurt or worse.
All sorts of excuses to not follow the rules, tires are cheap.

Soup.

campinghut wrote:
I would be worried about this line from the rules "Recreational vehicles such as fifth wheels and trailers should have either 3-peaked mountain snowflake or M+S tires on the drive axle of the primary vehicle and chains on board for the trailer tires to prevent slippage on banked curves" If I did not have snow tires or chains I would just stay in Alberta and not go through BC never mind the fuel prices :)

enblethen wrote:
This is very similar to what you will run into in Washington and Oregon.

These rules and laws are NOT to be a PITA for you, but for your safety and the safety and convenience of others traveling the same roads.

I have tire chains for both the TV and 5er and they are in the vehicles all the time.
I would hesitate to head out on a trip when "Chains Required" signs are up, but weather is fickle, and if caught in "Chain Up" conditions I want to be ready.

This is very similar to what you will run into in Washington and Oregon.

I would be worried about this line from the rules "Recreational vehicles such as fifth wheels and trailers should have either 3-peaked mountain snowflake or M+S tires on the drive axle of the primary vehicle and chains on board for the trailer tires to prevent slippage on banked curves" If I did not have snow tires or chains I would just stay in Alberta and not go through BC never mind the fuel prices :)

It's not just the Coquihala, the new regs are province-wide on designated highways, most highways are designated.

Their website though seems to say that EITHER tires with the "snowflake symbol" OR "M + S" tires are acceptable. See below.


Clicky.