Studies that have evaluated the effects on accidents of studded tires are reviewed. There are two types of evaluation studies with respect to the safety effects of studded tires: (1) Studies of the defect on automobile accident rates of using studded tires; and (2) studies of the effect on accidents of banning the use of studded tires. The results of studies of the effect of studded tires on automobile accident rates are found to vary substantially, depending on the quality of the study design. Recent studies employing multivariate techniques of analysis to control for confounding factors, attribute to studded tires minor declines in automobile accident rates of 5% for snow- or ice-covered roads, 2% for bare roads and 4% for all road surfaces combined. The results of these studies are consistent with the most recent estimates of the effect on accidents of banning studded tires. It is concluded that studded tires probably confer a slight benefit during wintertime. (Author/publisher).
Abstract