Damage to roads trumps advantage

Regarding the letter about studded tires, "Taxing someone for safety is silly": When ideas become "common knowledge" sometimes it's hard to change people's opinions with facts. Joint studies by the Washington State Department of Transportation and State Patrol and testing by Consumer Reports, among others, show that studded tires have only a marginal advantage over newer all-season or winter tires in certain icy conditions.

The rest of the time, which is most of the time around here, studded tires increase stopping distance. This makes you less safe. This aside from the rutting of our roads, which requires costly repair and creates a dangerous road hazard in itself. You can't believe this because it flies in the face of what you think you know. This information is available to you online or at the library. Try to open your mind to the facts for the benefit of society on this and other topics.

Connie Young
Snohomish