So what is it with people in Prince George and timeliness.
We know we are a last minute town when it comes to concerts and shows with few tickets often sold with just a couple of days left to the show, yet on the night the place is often packed out.
Where this may be somewhat understandable, with things like trying to get a babysitter, complaining that ticket prices are too high, or that you aren't able to get an alcoholic beverage at the show, there is no need to get a babysitter when getting your winter tires put on.
So why do most of us leave it to the last minute every year?
My uncle, who is in his 80s gets his winter tires put on his vehicle Oct. 1 every year.
It doesn't matter what the weather is like, on the tires go.
He doesn't have to wait in lineups, or drive white knuckled to the tire store in wretched winter driving conditions.
Every tire store, every garage and every auto dealer in town has been inundated over the last couple of weeks with the huge rush of last minute people wanting to get their winter tires put on, or trying to purchase new tires. Lineups are out the door at some places and some people have even been lining up an hour or more prior to some businesses opening their doors. If we had lineups like these for entertainment venues in town we would be a mecca for all things entertainment.
But as I write this I have to admit I am as guilty as anyone else for last minute tire replacement. Although I didn't realize until I took my winter tires for my SUV out of the shed that they just wouldn't be good enough for another winter, I had to shelve that idea and start looking for new tires and rims.
However, as I am lucky enough to have two vehicles, old as they are, I do have a set of winter tires for my car on rims. I am also the proud owner of an impact drill driver, which along with a torque wrench allows me to put my own rims on in my garage in half an hour or less.
So this gives me a bit of a cushion as to when I need to get my other vehicles tires changed.
But even then, I still have to wait until the roads are clear enough to take my other vehicle to the shop.
However this time I am getting new rims with the new rubber so I can change both vehicle's myself when I want to do it.
This means if we get a surprise dump of snow like we did on the weekend and again on Monday I can take a bit of time and put the tires on before venturing out.
But, what if you are not lucky enough to have a garage and tires on rims and an impact wrench?
You still have to get the tires changed, but why wait until the last minute?
Every year, including this one, there are accidents both in town and on the highways, some fatal.
But we get winter every year in Prince George and it can last for six months. We get a ton of snow every year in Prince George, making it difficult to get around unless properly equipped.
So why do we wait to do what we know we are going to have to do anyway.
Why do we wait for the lineups and the stress of not knowing if we can get the tires on before the snow arrives, or if it does, getting them on before we have to go to work on Monday.
Is it that the weather was good so I just didn't think about it, or because winter tires have a softer rubber compound and if we drive on them without snow on the road they will wear out quicker, of is it that the studs will get wrecked if we drive on them before we have snow.
Either way the excuses are silly. We are even sillier for lining up each and every year.
But what if something were to happen to someone we know or love? Something that could have been avoided if the vehicle had appropriate winter tires on. Would this make us get the winters changed over at an appropriate time?
Maybe not. Maybe we are all doomed to stand in lineups hoping we can get a changeover the same day and not be shunned away like someone with some weird sounding disease only to be put on a waiting list for four days.
Well at least all but one.
The one smart person in Prince George that puts his winter tires on Oct. 1 no matter what the weather.
Associate editor, Mick Kearns
