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“Tire experts will say the same thing; if you want the best tire in all kinds of winter driving conditions, you need winter tires, not all season tires,” says Chacun.
Winnipeg (29 Feb. 2012) - For quite some time, Manitoba paramedics have been concerned about the safety of using all-season tires on ambulances throughout the winter; something Lois Wales, President of the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union (MGEU/NUPGE) says endangers everyone on our roads.
"I think for the public's safety, patient care and paramedics, that (winter tires) should be considered," says Wales. "I know some will look at the winter we’ve had this year in southern Manitoba and think there hasn’t been much of a demand for winter tires. But that’s the kind of winters we get here. It could be beautiful outside one day and it could be a blizzard the next. We don't get to choose the weather we respond in."
The province's 11 regional health authorities (RHAs) use all-terrain, all-season tires on their Crestline Coach "Fleetmax" ambulances. These tires are tested in mud and snow but are not winter-rated to stick to snow and ice the way softer compound winter tires with specially-designed tread do.
The MGEU/NUPGE feels that puts paramedics, patients and other drivers on the road at risk when ambulances are responding to emergencies.
The union’s Technical Professional Paramedical Component Director, Wayne Chacun, concedes that there would be a cost associated with installing winter tires on the province’s entire fleet of ambulances, but in the long-run the costs would be minimal and as he says, “It’s hard to put a price on safety.”
If Manitoba RHAs were to install winter tires on its ambulances for the winter, they would not be the first in the country to do so – Ambulance New Brunswick recently fitted its fleet of 134 ambulances with Blizzak W965 tires for the winter months, after three vehicles flipped over.
“Tire experts will say the same thing; if you want the best tire in all kinds of winter driving conditions, you need winter tires, not all season tires,” says Chacun.
The union plans to continue to raise the issue at every venue possible in order to ensure safety for its members and the public on the road.
Click on the following link to hear the CBC Radio interview with TPP Component Director Wayne Chacun on this issue: AmbulanceTires.mp3
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