You all are exactly right. As simple a thing like a steep drive that’s unpaved regardless of where you live that gets occasional snow can require snow tires, where easy access on plowed roads don’t. The difference between me living where I do and just two miles away is two AWD car/trucks vs a front drive car and rwd truck which I had for years. So, there is no firm decision…it really depends upon your situation.
In Maine, there are a lot unpaved roads, hills, snow and a reluctance to spend valuable capital. The video does point out, there is an advantage to winter tires in cold weather, even if there is no snow or ice.
$1200…even the cheapest winter tires for $1oo each depending upon size, and steel rims used for less then $65 work well…we don’t do TPM devises.
There was a lot more margin for error where I grew up, they actually cut trees back well off the roadway
Man did that make us mad when we first moved up here. We moved into a house on this beautiful street that was lined with young-ish maple and oak trees. We just knew that before too long we’d have this great forest road to drive home on. And then October hit and this jerk with a chain saw attachment for his backhoe came along and cut every last one of them down. We were furious, until we saw how much snow gets pushed off the road that needs some place to go.
Honestly, I’d rather have the trees closer to the road and run snow tires, but they don’t consult me about such things. 
In our state, trees grow in spite of what we do, not because of it. I know everyone loves the beauty of trees, but they damage houses and power lines in storms, ( costing customers thousands in their utility bills over the years) , are nesting grounds for insects, entrance ramps into houses for rodents and extend fall cleanup costs immensely. So, the option of not doing anything to the trees to preserve their beauty comes at great expense, regardless of our willingness to compensate and use winter tires. We are all paying dearly for the miss management of trees. The healthiest trees are those which don’t have to fight for their nutrients. That means, in residential areas, tree management is essential…even if it means cutting them back.
Annual meeting of the summer tire club.
Not too much worry about power line issues here. Most of them except for the high-power long transmission lines are buried. We get pretty severe weather in the summer, so they have to bury them or they’d be fighting power outages constantly.
I do agree with you in general about tree management though. I always wince when I see people plant trees right up next to their houses. Sure, looks charming now. Give it 10 years and see how your foundation’s doing. 
That said, if it’s a country road that’s far away from houses and which is elevated above the surrounding terrain because it’s going through what used to be farm country, there’s no harm in having trees right up to the road unless you’re worried about where to put snow. As for the nutrient situation, trees tend to figure that out for themselves. Forests that aren’t destroyed by humans do OK without being managed by humans, after all.
You got it. Trees do quite well in the Forrest. When we cleared the land for my house, a good friend now retired biologist part times as an arborist. I learned a lot from him. Everything from how to handle black flies to basic tree management. How you manage your trees around your home environment is some different then natural areas where fires may be actually encouraged for healthy grow of some species. Isolating trees and minimizing the undergrowth which saps the nutrients from healthy trees that need it to help fend of insects and diseases is absolutely necessary. Tree height that gets out of hand demands more nutrients then the area can handle especially if they are p,anted too close together which then when trees are in a weaken condition, raise havoc to we intruders during storms. When people come in and want a natural environment too close to their houses, they are asking for trouble.
That said, if it’s a country road that’s far away from houses and which is elevated above the surrounding terrain because it’s going through what used to be farm country, there’s no harm in having trees right up to the road unless you’re worried about where to put snow.
Or worried about sliding even a tiny bit into what most areas would call a shoulder & ditch. Personally, I’d rather be in a ditch than wrapped around a 4’ trunk.
Where I grew up they manage tree growth by roads. The faster the speeds, the further back the growth is trimmed. At the same time, they cut down trees that might bring down power lines. For 40 years, I can only remember one power outage due to a storm bringing a tree down across the lines. I moved out east and lost power FIVE times the very first winter for that reason. I bought my own generator after the third time.
Funny but they just now seem to be coming to their senses. They came around to trim trees because of some recent fiascos regarding power outages and although they were responding to public outcry over the outages, these same people are out hugging the trees and against even trimming them back!
That’s the thing. On this road the speed limit is 20mph. If you can’t manage to not die at 20mph, you probably shouldn’t be driving.
Late as possible install and early as possible removal. They expensive tires to be running on warm pavement on the dry roads they see the vast majority of their life. They also do not last as long a mid range all-season either but are expensive to purchase. The issue is the tread is only useful for 50% of their tread depth(5/32" - 6/32") and then it turns into a mediocre all-season at best.
In NH the same power blackout problems that dag references exist. I do have to comment, however, that after serious problems a few years ago PSNH has in our area been dedicating summers to clearing branches and trees that endangered power lines, and it made a huge difference last winter. I don’t remember them ever spending summers doing this before.
I’d sooner have the trees and live with the outages…if having electricity 100% of the time is life-critical, you ought to have backup generator power anyways!
Just to tie things a little together, there seems to be a correlation between our dependency on winter tires and tree management relative to outages. We live “in the sticks” ( no pun intended) and we loose power regularly. I have 75 to 100 hours on our generator each year and we are soon to beat this record this year. There are areas where the tree growth is so bad and the lines are so inaccessible as we don’t plow all of the access roads (because they are so narrow with the unmanaged tree growth) the power company literally has to " walk the line" with chain saws just to repair them. The terrain is just too difficult as the mountainous area with lots of ledge promotes shallow root systems, lots of fallen trees and difficult traveling. Before the first snow fall, every one has studded snow tires on. You need to get in and out just to keep your generators fueled.
So, we " live with the trees" by choice. But to do this, on my land, I brush cut twice a year to keep my pole and line open to the main line to minimize the expense. Power outages are too expensive when your pipes could freeze, you could loose your food in the fridge and you can’t follow the Sox on TV. So, my nick name from my neighbors is “CLEAR CUT (name)” for good reason. The only good tree, is a managed tree. You get that attitude when you live amongst them. We don’t have "the town " do our services; we have to do it our selves. Everyone has snow tires, chains, chain saws and plenty of gas. No kidding. Our life here amount the trees depends upon having the right tires, at the right time. The right time is often…a little earlier then you planned.
Btw, we are all “tree huggers” and devote environmentalist who live here. We just like hugging trees that “don’t threaten” us. We are not indiscriminate “tree huggers”. A few newbies are when they first arrive. Then they very quickly do a turn a round when an 80 foot tree falls on their power line and across their only way out. Then, they become “chain saw” worshipers !
When do we put our winter tires on ?
today.
In Oregon studs are normally legal from 1 November to 1 April. This can be adjusted due to freak weather. This year it is perfect so far when we were hit with heavy sleet and severe freezing rain in mid November. My car looked like a giant snow cone machine had vomited on it from the sleet. It was easily cleared and the local roads have so far remained dry.
shadowfax Thank you for validating what I have long observed. When the idiots who should never have been issued a driver license are confronted with snow and/or ice they press the accelerator as they normally would. When their vehicle does not accelerate, in their feeble minds, the solution is to mash it to the floor!
I do have to comment, however, that after serious problems a few years ago PSNH has in our area been dedicating summers to clearing branches and trees that endangered power lines, and it made a huge difference last winter.
That’s because they were forced to. Two years prior to that big ice storm they asked for and received a tax bread so they could use the money to clear trees in case of a ice storm. After that epic storm they were audited and it was discovered they spent less then 25% of their tax credit on clearing trees.
Dag- I don’t have it quite as “bad” as you do but agree that many people quickly change their tune when they have to manage 100s of giant oaks and pines. Nasty, dirty trees that shed branches constantly. I was up all night during that ice storm hearing pine branches crashing to the ground every 1/2 hour or so. In the morning after clearing my own drive, I headed out to help some friends. I had to chop my way through and had a small convoy behind me at each downed tree. Funniest part was some dude complaining about how fast I was working and wanted to take MY chainsaw. Then he says he has to get to his shop- that sells chainsaws!! Let me get this straight, you have a business that sells chainsaws, showed up here without one and have the nerve to complain?! Get back in your truck and shut the h@ll up and wait like everyone else…
I guess if you are in New York, shoulda put them on a couple weeks ago, plus add chains. Its gonna be a rough one this year me thinks.
I guess if you are in New York, shoulda put them on a couple weeks ago, plus add chains. Its gonna be a rough one this year me thinks.
That’s what we thought here in NH a few years ago when we had a 10" Halloween storm. But that storm was the only time I pulled out the snow blower that year.