Do I need winter tires in Langley? Eight questions, answered

The sign season began October 1 and the first frost is due any day (the long-term average for the valley is November 7), so the question is doing the rounds again at the tire shops along the Bypass. Here are the answers, from the Province’s own pages.

Am I required to have winter tires to drive around Langley?

No. The Province’s rule applies only to highways it has signed as winter tire and chain-up routes, and its own page says that because of the milder coastal climate, drivers are not required to use winter tires in many areas along the coast. Neither the Township nor the City of Langley has a bylaw of its own. Highway 1 through Langley, Abbotsford and Chilliwack is drawn in black on the Province’s South Coast map, meaning not designated, and so are Highway 7, Highway 11, Highway 13 to the Aldergrove border and Highway 10.

So where do the signs start?

The South Coast map puts the first Highway 1 sign at Laidlaw, just west of Hope. From there east through Hope and up the Fraser Canyon, winter tires or chains are required October 1 to March 31. Heading south-east, Highway 3 from Hope to Princeton is an October 1 to April 30 route. So is the Coquihalla (Highway 5) and the Okanagan Connector (97C), which is the practical point for anyone driving to Kelowna, Kamloops or the ski hills: an hour out of Langley, the law changes.

The other one that catches Lower Mainland drivers is the Sea to Sky. Highway 99 is designated from Horseshoe Bay all the way to Pemberton, and BC Highway Patrol ran a demonstration stop at Porteau Cove last October where a driver without winter tires was ticketed $121 under section 125 of the Motor Vehicle Act. If Whistler is in your winter, the rule applies from West Vancouver on.

What counts as a winter tire?

Two things, both from the Motor Vehicle Act Regulations: the tire has to be marked on the sidewall with either “M+S” (mud and snow) or the three-peak mountain and snowflake symbol, and it has to have at least 3.5 mm of tread. M+S is the legal floor, and plenty of all-season tires carry it, which is why the Province says many drivers run M+S tires year-round and are, strictly, legal on a signed highway. The Province recommends the snowflake symbol anyway, because those tires are tested for snow traction and M+S ones aren’t; all-weather tires carry the snowflake and can stay on all year. Summer tires with chains on them don’t count.

You need at least two matching winter tires on the drive axle, even on a four-wheel drive, and the Province recommends four. Studded tires are allowed only from October 1 to April 30, with studs no more than 2 mm proud of the tread, and if the fronts are studded the backs must be too.

What does it cost if I’m caught?

$121 for a passenger vehicle without legal winter tires on a signed route. Chain rules for commercial vehicles carry bigger fines ($598 for bypassing a chain-up area). The RCMP and the Province’s commercial vehicle inspectors enforce it, and both can turn you around regardless of the ticket if conditions are bad. There’s no insurance penalty written into the rule, but ICBC “strongly recommends” winter tires and asks drivers to check the symbol and the tread.

Does this apply to a rental, or my cousin’s Alberta plates?

Yes. The Province says all passenger and commercial vehicles from out of province have to follow BC’s winter tire and chain rules; the M+S and snowflake markings are standard across North America. Most rentals come on M+S tires, which meet the minimum, but if you’re driving a rental beyond the Lower Mainland the Province’s advice is to ask for winter tires when you book.

Is it worth it if I never leave the valley?

That’s the real question for most of us, and it’s a judgment call rather than a legal one. The numbers that bear on it, from Environment Canada’s 1991 to 2020 normals at Abbotsford, the nearest official station: the average daily temperature is below 7°C from November through February (6.2° in November, 3.5° in December, 3.7° in January, 5.1° in February). About 49 nights a year drop to freezing or below, most of them between November and March. Snow falls on about 12 days a year, with a 10 cm day roughly once or twice a winter, and there are about 11 days with snow on the ground.

Transport Canada’s line is that below 7°C all-season and summer rubber loses elasticity and grip, which is why 7°C is the number the tire industry uses for switching over. In Langley terms that’s most mornings from mid-November to early March, with or without snow. Last winter’s first real snow didn’t arrive until February 17, and on March 9 the Province was advising Lower Mainland drivers to make sure they had winter tires for a storm that dropped up to 8 cm. So the honest answer: for four months a year the rubber on the car is the wrong temperature more often than not, and the one or two mornings when the hill out of your neighbourhood is white are the mornings you’ll be glad you spent the money.

When should I book?

Earlier than you think. The pattern every year is the same: the first forecast of snow and the shops fill up. The valley’s average first frost is November 7, and the 7°C crossover at Abbotsford is early November, so the second half of October is the sensible window and the first half of November is the busy one. Tread check while you’re at it: the Province’s 3.5 mm minimum is well above the wear bars, and ICBC’s reminder is to look for the symbol and measure the tread rather than guess.

Who clears the roads if it does snow?

The Township plows first-priority routes (major collectors, arterials, school zones, bus routes and hills, about 401 km) continuously as long as the weather lasts, second-priority industrial and commercial roads during business hours, and residential streets only once snow in the middle of the road exceeds 25 cm, with a single pass. The City of Langley starts on its main routes and moves to residential streets only when those are clear. In both municipalities the sidewalk in front of your place is your job within 24 hours of a snowfall (by 10 am for Township businesses). Which streets are which, what to do about your bin on collection day, and where the school-closure call shows up first are in our snow day post, and highway conditions are on DriveBC (our road closures page covers planned work in Langley).

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