Hey Bangor… We Have Just Two Weeks To Swap Out Our Studs.

It feels like I just put the stupid things on my car...... But sure enough, May 1st is around the corner, and that means the studded snow tires have to come off.

For years, I never even bothered with studded tires. I lived in southern Maine, and even though they don't plow much better down there than they do up here, there was more traffic, so the snow on the roads melted quicker. And traffic moves a lot slower, again because of all the traffic.

But then we moved back to this area, and out into the country. It seemed like such a great idea at the time. And all the rest of the year when there's no snow, it's absolutely the place to be. But after I took out our mailbox in the first week of living out here, I decided maybe I'd better have a look into what all the hub bub was about.

I've never been 100% sure why the studs have to come off, but I do know it's a state law. So there is possibly a ticket in your future if you decide to be a bit lazy about it. Especially when state troopers have already made it clear they're going t be cracking down a bit more on smaller violations.

But I'm assuming a ticket from studded tires is just the sprinkles on the ice cream cone. You'd likely have to be stopped for something else, or literally roll up next to a cop that can hear the distinct sound of your studs digging holes in the road. Which why I'm assuming we can't leave them on....damage to the roads.

Besides, if you left them on year round, they'd wear down even quicker, and those buggers aren't cheap! I think I paid over $600 for my current set, which definitely need to come off. Last year, I think I finally got to it around May 30th, hahaha. So you probably don't want to follow my lead.

But start making that call soon. Before know it, all the available spots will be taken, and you'll be scrambling to get them off in time. Then you'll be driving around in major violation of the rules of the road like some kind of two-bit criminal. No one wants to go down over studded tires. Nobody.