WAYNE, N.J. (Jan. 2, 2014) — Hankook Tire American Corp.'s got your quick weather forecast for this winter: Think S-N-O-W.
According to Hankook's Winter Gauge Index, 41 percent of Americans and more than half of Northeasterners and Midwesterners expect more snow this winter as compared to last year.
The Wayne-based tire marketer said although they expect snow, American drivers are still hitting the nation's roadways. More than three quarters of those polled (76 percent) said they are comfortable driving in the snow. Only 1 percent of drivers reported they do not drive in the snow.
The Hankook Quarterly Gauge Index found that 63 percent of drivers say skidding on icy roadways is their biggest concern when driving in the winter. This number is down from the 68 percent findings in last year's survey.
Additional findings in the Hankook survey include:
- 49 percent of Americans “stay inside” after a snowstorm, while 15 percent go sledding, 13 percent build a snowman, 11 percent shovel snow and 8 percent have a snowball fight Despite the freezing temperatures, 43 percent of Americans said they spend their time sitting in the car while waiting for it to warm up in the winter; 24 percent said they sit inside and drink a cup of coffee;
- 71 percent of Americans spend less than one hour digging their car out of the snow; and
- Nearly half of Americans maintain their own driveway (49 percent), while 26 percent said they don't maintain it, and 4 percent employ their kids to do it.
The Hankook Tire Gauge Index is a quarterly survey of Americans that's meant to uncover their attitudes and opinions about all things related to driving, the company said. The winter installment of the survey, conducted Dec. 9-10, probed 1,010 Americans about winter driving and what is on their mind as the season approaches.