A bill under consideration in the Alaska Legislature would require residents of the state to have winter tires on their cars or trucks from mid-December to mid-March, beginning next winter.

The bill, proposed by Rep. John Harris, R-Valdez, also states that studded tires would be acceptable, as would other brands approved by the Alaska Department of Public Safety.

At a recent hearing, tire company representatives said the bulk of serious winter accidents and fatalities in far-north United States and European communities are caused by problems with turning, according to a report in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Transportation Committee Chairwoman Rep. Peggy Wilson, R-Wrangell, held the bill, HB322, following the Tuesday afternoon hearing. The committee heard the measure alongside a plan that would restrict the use of cell phones when driving.

Harris, whose district reaches up the Richardson Highway to beyond Delta Junction, said both bills merit debate.

“Certainly both are controversial, as both deal with restrictions on people and their activities,” he said.

State law already takes some steps toward governing the use of tires, banning studded tires in much of Alaska through the summer. But Rep. Tammie Wilson, R-North Pole, said the requirement could also impose a small hardship on some families who would need to invest a few hundred dollars on a set of winter-only tires.

“It’s enough just to keep their vehicle running,” Wilson told Gaede, referring to poorer families. “Please keep that in mind.”