Winter Tyres – Essential Winter Road Safety

While in many other European countries, it is common practice for drivers to switch to winter tyres as the winter season approaches, UK drivers often seem reluctant to fit winter tyres.
Moreover, unlike in many countries, it is not currently a legal requirement in the UK to use winter tyres. Not using winter tyres can dramatically increase the chances of road accidents, and reduce driving safety, especially with a harsh winter like the one we have witnessed last year.
Many drivers seem unwilling to switch to winter tyres as they think winter tyres are only effective on snow or ice covered roads, and admittedly, winters in the United Kingdom do not have as much snow as some other European countries. However, winter tyres are not only useful on snowy and icy road surfaces any more. Advances in tread pattern design and modern rubber compound technology ensure that winter tyres also provide higher levels of  road safety on damp and cold surfaces.
Winter tyres are thus recommended from early November until late March to increase your vehicle's grip during winter. Winter tyres should always be in excellent condition, as worn tyres are ineffective on snowy, damp, or icy surfaces.

Why Do You Need Winter Tyres?

• You cannot expect your tyres to provide ideal performance with temperature ranges between +30C and -15C. Winter tyres perform best under 7C. In the UK, this means between around October and April (and arguably most of the summer. Start using winter tyres from October or November, as the damp and wet road conditions are potentially just as hazardous as snowy roads.
• The braking distance is substantially longer on damp and wet roads. Winter tyres can significantly reduce braking distance.
• When temperature drops below 7C, the molecules in the tread rubber harden and eventually freeze, which makes your tyres much less adaptable to the road surface, reducing grip levels. The advanced winter tyre manufacturing technologies ensure that this hardening effect at low temperatures is minimised, and thus, grip levels are increased.
• Check your tread depth regularly. As tread depth decreases, braking distances increase. For maximum effectiveness and safety, make sure your winter tyres are always in excellent condition.
• The number of accidents increase significantly on wet and icy road surfaces. Winter tyres can provide higher levels of safety and reduce the number of accidents caused by damp surfaces.
• If you are planning to travel to Europe during the winter holiday season, Hometyre highly recommends that you fit new winter tyres. It is a legal requirement in many European countries to use season-specific tyres, moreover, winter weather conditions can be significantly harsher on the continent.

The Benefits of Winter Tyres

• Reduced braking distances.
• Higher levels of road safety – Better grip and driving control.
• Many people feel uneasy when driving in winter conditions. Fitting winter tyres will potentially reduce you uneasiness about driving on icy and wet surfaces, and you will feel safer.
• Reduce the number of accidents. Drivers are 5 times more likely to skid on icy or snowy roads than on dry roads. Winter tyres are designed to provide better driving control.

Hometyre recommends that you fit four winter tyres to increase your vehicle's grip during winter, and to potentially reduce the number of road accidents. We can fit and balance your new winter tyres at your home or work at no extra cost, and provide additional advice on winter road safety.  You should also regularly check your tyres, and make sure that the tread depth is never below 3 mm.