Snow tires (M&S)

[Fisher, Scott]

Another very valuable Web site for the traction-tire discussion is this one:

http://www.tripcheck.com/winter/tractiontire.htm

Published by the Oregon DOT, it lists all the brands that are legal in
Oregon's snow areas (that is, places where chains or snow tires are required
in certain conditinos) when used on AWD vehicles in place of chains or
studded tires.  The page also has links to the full text of the Oregon state
law on snow/traction tires for more study.  It *also* includes a list of
tires that have been removed from this list by the manufacturer, which could
also be useful information.

While this may or may not apply to the laws in other states, it appears to
be a fairly comprehensive list of the tires that are currently approved as
traction tires in at least one state, and since the Tire Rack specifically
mentions Oregon on their Web page, it should at least be useful for
comparison.

(That site also has a great network of freeway cams in critical locations
throughout the state -- when we were planning our househunting trip in
November, I checked the key mountain passes the morning we left and knew not
only that there was no snow on the roadway at the Siskiyou summit, but also
that we could pull off the road and let the kids have a snowball fight. :-)

--Scott