Tag Archives: safety

Vehicle & Tire Tips

Helpful Winter Driving Safety Tips for Canadian Roads

Winter driving in Canada is something we face every year—yet it still manages to catch many drivers off guard. In Southern Ontario especially, winter conditions can change quickly. One moment the roads are wet, the next they’re icy and snow-covered. These rapid shifts are what make winter driving particularly dangerous.

Whether you’re commuting on the 400-series highways, navigating city streets, or driving rural roads affected by lake-effect snow, a little preparation and awareness can make a big difference. Here are some practical reminders to help keep you safe this winter. Continue reading Helpful Winter Driving Safety Tips for Canadian Roads →

Cold Weather, Vehicle & Tire Tips

Are Your Tires Ready For Winter Weather?

snow_tires_winter_weather-
Despite the warm spells this fall, as temperatures cool across the nation heading into winter, we at Active Green + Ross Tire Centres want to remind drivers that it’s past time to start preparing for winter driving conditions and how to protect themselves, their families and fellow motorists. One of the most important steps? Switching into dedicated winter tires.

While it remains important to adjust driving habits to weather, according to Automotive Industries Association of Canada (AIA) President Marc Brazeau, the single most imperative thing Canadians can do to protect themselves and their loved ones is transition to winter tires. The idea that all-season tires are as effective as winter tires is a dangerous misconception.

According to TRAC, in 2024 they found that 79 % of people who use winter tires say they believe the tires have saved them from a potentially hazardous situation from a loss of control or a collision.

Continue reading Are Your Tires Ready For Winter Weather? →

Vehicle & Tire Tips

How Proper Tire Inflation Saves You Money

Did you know? Maintaining your vehicle’s tires is not only crucial to ensuring safety on the road, but it is also an essential step to getting better fuel economy which helps make the vehicle more efficient by burning less fuel, saving money and helping the environment! Unfortunately, only 31 per cent of Canadian drivers measure their tire pressures monthly. Continue reading How Proper Tire Inflation Saves You Money →

Vehicle & Tire Tips

Five Tips for Summer Road Trips

Family sitting in the back of a car smiling to camera and waving.Don’t you just love the summer! It’s honestly one of my top four seasons to travel in! Summer vacations always brought great memories for me as a kid and now with having four kids of my own, making new memories is always happening.

To help make positive memories, traveling safely to your summer destinations should be every driver’s priority. With that in mind, let’s take a look at a few summer travel tips. Continue reading Five Tips for Summer Road Trips →

Vehicle & Tire Tips

Wheel Alignment – A Small Price for a Long Term Investment!

Although there are many other factors that can cause tire wear, such as Canada’s climate, road surface quality, and your driving style, improper tire alignment is the main cause to irregular treadwear. When out of alignment, your tires will wear unevenly and prematurely and can even cause driver assist systems to malfunction. Common irregular tire tread wear conditions from improper alignment include the following: Heel/Toe wear, Feathering, and Camber wear.

If you are experiencing irregular tire wear, handling issues, or an off centered steering wheel, an alignment inspection and correction should be performed. Even without experiencing any indicators of alignment related issues, most vehicle manufacturers recommend checking your alignment at least annually or at every seasonal tire changeover and to have it corrected with the purchase of new tires.

Continue reading Wheel Alignment – A Small Price for a Long Term Investment! →

Tire Safety

Mounting & Balancing

At Active Green + Ross, we always ensure your vehicle is in top-notch condition, especially with your vehicles WHEELS and TIRES!

 For the proper mounting of tires and wheels, be sure to observe some basic precautions:

  • Mounting and balancing should be done by a professional at Active Green + Ross, using equipment designed for the job!
  • Both tire beads are securely mounted
  • The wheel is not bent or damaged
  • There is no buildup of dirt between the hub and the wheel
  • All of the lugs have been properly torqued
  • The wheel is securely seated on the hub

Continue reading Mounting & Balancing →

Car Maintenance

Seasonal Car Maintenance Schedule to Prevent Spring & Summer Breakdowns

At Active Green + Ross, your regular scheduled maintenance should include a complete multi-point inspection along with an oil, filter, and fluid, brake inspection, tire rotation or balance, alignment check and battery & brake inspection and other filter and fluid replacements.

Continue reading Seasonal Car Maintenance Schedule to Prevent Spring & Summer Breakdowns →

Vehicle & Tire Tips

The risk of driving on your Winter tires in Summer

Risk of Driving Winter Tires in Summer

Did you know its unsafe to run winter tires during the summer?

According to the Tire and Rubber Association of Canada, as of 2019, 69% (excluding Quebec where its mandatory) of Canadian drivers own winter tires. With the onset of the pandemic and lockdowns, the average Canadian is driving far less which has led to more and more drivers choosing to leave their winter tires on during the Spring & Summer months.

In this, we want to educate our customers on the potential safety concerns and why you should be visiting Active Green + Ross for either NEW all-season/summer tires, or at the very least changing over to an existing set.

3 MAIN RISKS WHEN USING WINTER TIRES IN THE SUMMER:

CostLongevitySafety

Tire WearTire Wear Information

Tire Wear Information

To find out more, contact your local Active Green + Ross store location or visit our website at www.activegreenross.com TODAY!

With 67 locations Ontario wide, we are the Tire & Service Experts and WILL NOT BE UNDERSOLD!

Thank you & Keep it Rolling!

Vehicle & Tire Tips

Vehicle Repair Still Deemed Essential for the Government of Ontario Lockdown in Toronto and Peel Region

On Friday, November 20th, the Government of Ontario announced that Toronto and Peel regions will be moving into a lockdown on Monday November 23, 2020. These measures will be in place until December 21, 2020.

The rules are quite similar to what was put into place early on in the COVID-19 pandemic in March and April. The government has established an essential and non-essential services list and any business deemed non-essential are only able to operate online and offer curbside service or deliveries. Retail stores deemed essential are permitted to open for in-person shopping, but will have 50% capacity limits.

These measures will be in place until at least December 21, 2020.

How does this apply to the automotive service centres?

The Ontario government has deemed vehicle repair and manufacturing as essential services in these regions. These members will be allowed to open, but will still need to abide by public health guidelines.

To learn more about how the new lockdown applies to you, please see the document COVID-19 Response Framework: Keeping Ontario Safe and Open —Lockdown Measures.

Vehicle & Tire Tips

Car Seat Safety Tips

Baby in rear-facing Car SeatRaising kids can be a challenge and a lot of fun. Transporting them in the family vehicle can be difficult at the best of times. I’m not sure which was worse; when the kids were little or when they got older. A day never goes by when I hear “shotgun” from one of my kids. They all want to sit in the front seat. However, when the kids are small, it’s every parent’s responsibility to know where the kids should sit, especially in the early years. Keep in mind the middle of the rear seat is safest for any passenger. It’s farthest away from any of the four sides in case of collision.

As many parents do, they keep infants in rear facing car seats for quite a while. The rear-facing car seat helps to support the child’s head and neck if the driver does a sudden swerve, stops abruptly, or is involved in a crash. Since the infant’s neck muscles haven’t built up much strength in those first years, keeping them in a rear-facing car seat as long as possible is the best thing for them. There are some rear-facing seats that can hold children up to 20 kilograms! As long as your child hasn’t outgrown the rear-facing child seat, keep them in it! Continue reading Car Seat Safety Tips →