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I used to take risks. I also used to have Ford Ranger 3 years ago with some good all-season tires on it. It never got stuck in the snow either, then on March 17th, the last snow of the year hit just before I started home on my daily commute. The near-zero(Celsius) temperatures and strong wind polished the road. I was about 2 km's from the city limits when the truck caught a gust of wind which pushed it sideways on the highway. We (me and the guy I carpool with) hit the ditch between the divided highway at about a 45 degree angle. The tires dug into the built up snow, causing us to roll sideways once, landing back on our wheels, while we carried on across the oncoming lanes of traffic finally stopping in the opposing ditch.
I luckily only suffered a few cuts on my ear when the drivers side glass shattered during the roll, and we were fortunate that an ambulance happened by a few minutes later and stopped for us to check us out. While we were in the ambulance, the RCMP stopped for the accident report. While we were there, we saw at least 3 more vehicles hit the ditch, and another guy hit the ambulance as it was pulling away.
I got off really lucky. I walked away with some scratches and sore muscles. Insurance wrote off the truck and I got to go home to my wife and my 6-month old son.
I was driving 20kph under the limit when it happened. I thought I was managing the risk well, but a gust of wind turned me sideways in the middle of the highway because my tires were unsuitable for the job.
Anyway, that's my PSA. I run studded winter tires now whenever snow or ice is a concern, and I recommend that anyone who has to deal with snow at least semi-regularly have a set because the risk simply is not worth the couple hundred dollars worth of savings.
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