Preparing to drive safely this winter

Preparing to drive safely this winter WATCH: Drivers in northern Ontario are preparing for the next winter season, and CTV Northern Ontario's Lydia Chubak looks at driving safety

TIMMINS – Autumn has its share of pretty days in the north, but is a sure sign roads are about to get ugly.

Provincial Police say if you change the look of your vehicle with some winter tires, the season should go a lot smoother.

"A good winter tire is going to help you stop… it's actually 30-40% more stop time than an all season tire," says Constable Michelle Simard, OPP.

Gilles Mathieu at James Toyota says they make sure to have many types of tires.

"We order our tires like pretty well a fully year in advance, so our order for this year was placed in april," he explained.

He says they'll install around 800 winter tires this fall.

"What we've noticed this year… that there's been a spike… people have been asking about studded tires more than ever," he explained.

Provincial Police say winter tires are specially designed with treads that have grooved channels to move water aside, allowing tires to stay in contact with the road surface.

But above all, they want motorists to be careful and say it's okay to drive slower than posted speed limits when road conditions are dicey.

"You need to drive to weather conditions. So it's not going to be a tire that's going to save you from going off the road. It's going to be your driver actions. You're driving to the winter conditions, you're driving a little slower, you've leaving more room between vehicles… that's what's going to actually help us keep the vehicle on the roadway," says Simard.

Police say regardless of winter tires or makes of vehicles, the number one cause of collision during snowy conditions is speed. They ask you to remember 'ice and snow, keep it slow'.