text: You can't drive and talk on a cell phone but you can still endanger yourself, other cars and pedestrians by driving on icy streets and intersections with no more than worn (un-inspected) summer or all-season tires in most provinces in Canada. And you don't need a lot of snow to cause havoc. Edmonton falls to pieces most mornings after only a few cms of snow, and even without it, cars warming-up spew lots of water on roads that commonly refreezes in the core winter months each morning. Snow tires ought to be mandatory (as in Quebec) to ensure greater safety and long commuting delays when the latest dusting sends people into the ditches.  And if the provinces won't, insurance companies could still happily raise their rates for those drivers who chose not to buy snow tires. Safety shouldn't be an option.