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Old 12-03-2011, 01:45 PM
Status: " Charleston South Carolina" (set 7 days ago)
 
Location: home...finally, home .
8,814 posts, read 21,280,851 times
Reputation: 20102

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I'll be moving to Boston from coastal California and I wondered if there is a law that people have to have snow tires. We never have snow here whatsoever. Years ago, on Long Island, we had to have them, but they disappeared sort of in the late seventies (I think). I am not sure why.

Up in Tahoe, people have to have chains to drive over Donner's Pass (you've heard of Donner's Pass, probably) to get to Reno and there are even road checks every mile or so over to make sure that you do this. You would be pulled over and forced to install them right then & there if you are stopped.
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Old 12-03-2011, 01:54 PM
 
Location: Behind You!
1,949 posts, read 4,422,737 times
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No, no LAW forcing it, just have tires with good tread on them, To me at least, "Snow Tire" means steel studded, which are loud, USUALLY not needed, and there's only a couple months you can legally use them. However, our year round tires would most likely look like snow tires compared to whats used in SoCal.
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Old 12-03-2011, 02:08 PM
Status: " Charleston South Carolina" (set 7 days ago)
 
Location: home...finally, home .
8,814 posts, read 21,280,851 times
Reputation: 20102
On Long Island, you had to remove them in the warmer months and store them in your garage. YOu were not allowed to drive with them in the summer.
I really never noticed the tires treads here as I haven't been here all that long. I still might have my good old LI tires on the car.
I tried to ask Click & Clack from NPR on their website, but you have to pay $15.98 or something.
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Old 12-03-2011, 04:40 PM
 
Location: a bar
2,724 posts, read 6,113,588 times
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All season tires are fine for around here.
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Old 12-04-2011, 12:22 PM
 
Location: Madison, TN
86 posts, read 210,816 times
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All season tires are good for Boston, but if you want to go into the mountains for any reason, snow tires are advisable. There are a lot of good snow tires out now that aren't studded, and could be used from November to April in any conditions (Look up Bridgestone Blizzak for a good reference). There are no laws requiring snow tires or chains in New England, (mountains aren't quite as tall as in the west) but if you venture into Canada in the winter, snow tires are required.
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Old 12-04-2011, 12:43 PM
 
3,244 posts, read 7,448,554 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dngirard View Post
All season tires are good for Boston, but if you want to go into the mountains for any reason, snow tires are advisable. There are a lot of good snow tires out now that aren't studded, and could be used from November to April in any conditions (Look up Bridgestone Blizzak for a good reference). There are no laws requiring snow tires or chains in New England, (mountains aren't quite as tall as in the west) but if you venture into Canada in the winter, snow tires are required.
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Here are the laws, by state:

http://www.milexautocare.com/steering/steer6.htm

Here in southern NH, I run studded snows in the winter. I keep a second set of rims/tires with them mounted, and then just do a quick switchover in the winter and then spring.

The term all-season tire is the equivalent to saying 'mediocre in all seasons'.

When the highways get icy in the winter, all-season tires are useless. The only downside to studded snows is that they are noisy (and don't spin them in your driveway, or you will have racing stripes

Typically on an icy highway in New England, if you are going 40-50 mph with studs, your stopping distance will be 40ft shorter than the guy behind you with all-season. But at least you won't hit the guy in front of you, so the guy behind you is at fault.

All-wheel/four wheel drive is only as useful as the gripping ability between the tire and the ground. It has nothing to do with stopping distance. Fine, AWD/FWD will make it much more difficult to get stuck, but combine that with studs and now you can stop too.

(BYW, Blizzaks don't last very long on dry pavement, and as they wear down, they just turn into a regular snow tire).

If you are going to Boston, all-season should be fine. If you want to go skiing up in NH (say up 93), I would do the studded snow thing...
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Old 12-04-2011, 06:37 PM
 
2,440 posts, read 4,838,334 times
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Years ago many people used snow tires because ordinary ones didn't work well in the snow and most cars were rear-wheel drive where the weight of the engine didn't help with traction in snow. With the inception of radial tires one mostly doesn't need them. The change was perhaps 30 years ago--something like that--and snow tires became unnecessary for most city-suburb dwellers. The other change was transition to front-wheel drive, where the heaviest part of the car helps with traction. Now if you're way up a hill on a dirt road in the high country you might want snow tires. Then again, those people have four-wheel drive, which also no one had 30 or more years ago. Nowadays many city folk have four-wheel drive vehicles--unnecessary, but if you like the car otherwise, maybe you take the 4WD, just as you might take automatic transmission even if you'd really rather be shifting yourself.
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Old 12-04-2011, 07:02 PM
Status: " Charleston South Carolina" (set 7 days ago)
 
Location: home...finally, home .
8,814 posts, read 21,280,851 times
Reputation: 20102
Thanks. I guess the ones I have will be fine. I won't be speeding on icy freeways because I don't even drive on the freeways.
Now, for the Drivers' Test ......
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Old 12-05-2011, 12:03 PM
 
Location: Brookline, MA
613 posts, read 2,307,765 times
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Quote:
Now, for the Drivers' Test ......
You shouldn't need to take a road test or a written test if you have a valid, unexpired CA license. Massachusetts RMV - Converting an Out-of-State License

So unless your out of state license is expired for more than a year, all you'll need to do is provide a bunch of paperwork and pay the fees to convert to a MA license.

All season tires should be sufficient in and around the Boston area. You can get snow tires, but it's not required by law.
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Old 12-05-2011, 04:58 PM
 
Location: Johns Island
2,502 posts, read 4,436,759 times
Reputation: 3767
Quote:
Originally Posted by nancy thereader View Post
I'll be moving to Boston from coastal California and I wondered if there is a law that people have to have snow tires. We never have snow here whatsoever. Years ago, on Long Island, we had to have them, but they disappeared sort of in the late seventies (I think). I am not sure why.

Up in Tahoe, people have to have chains to drive over Donner's Pass (you've heard of Donner's Pass, probably) to get to Reno and there are even road checks every mile or so over to make sure that you do this. You would be pulled over and forced to install them right then & there if you are stopped.
Boston gets some snow, and can be cold, but Boston is no Lake Tahoe/Reno. If you plan to live in or around Boston, you do not need snow tires.
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