I’ll never forget the year my husband put a set of Vredestein studless snow tires on my 1975, rear-wheel drive Opel. I was a substitute teacher and drove to schools all over the city. I always made it to my assignments and always made it home.

A few years later we put Gislaveds (again, no studs) on our front-wheel drive, but not four-wheel drive, Subaru for my 60-mile round trip to Fairfield, Wash., three days a week, for seven years. Always made it to work; always made it home.

I’m now on studless Blizzaks and have no trouble until the “chains required” sign goes up on Snoqualmie and only because we still don’t have four-wheel drive.

My point is, as a former Seattleite, hard-wired to be suspicious of snow, I swear by studless snow tires. Freeway ruts all year are more dangerous than the few months of ice and snow.

Mary Kay Anderson

Spokane