Oh rea-h-lly.... roads are impassable in the UK please >

Makes me mad seeing this useless news on the telly...

Oh rea-h-lly.... roads are impassable in the UK please >

Makes me mad seeing this useless news on the telly...

Oh rea-h-lly.... roads are impassable in the UK please >

Makes me mad seeing this useless news on the telly...

You might be interested in Autocar in the near future. They have done a non scientific test with a couple of RWD BMWs and stuck Winter tyres on one of them (a 1 series) and not on the other (I think it was a 6 series). They are releasing a video of the test in the near future and although the 6 series is probably a bit disadvantaged, they are realistic enough to make a rough assessment of the differences. They note the Winter tyres are much better.

I have to say I have been banging on about them since last winter and it’s taken this super cold snap for the media to take heed of the modern and appropriate rubber available.

winter tyres are worth they're weight in gold IMO, I've had mine on sine early November. winter tyres are used by the majority here but winter is much longer and the snow and ice are guaranteed. if future winters in the UK are to be judged by the last couple they may be the only way forward there too (literally!)

Mark

Edited 9 January, 201016 yr by m17rkj

Winter tyres -sorry ,folks -perhaps I'm being an old fart , but - I've been on the roads for about 43 years now . I used to live in the west highlands, the home of the only single track road .And in those days - the standard was RWD. We managed to get around ,bit of shovelling etc .But definately no tyre changes -I did have Town & Country on my works van ,purely because I had to go off road ,into grass at times .I also had T & C on my car - but didn't notice any benifit in snow ( apart from getting into the verge area ,full of mud).

To me - driving in snow consists of three factors -

Confidence in your ability to cope with the conditions.

A decent vehicle

Reading the road ahead .

AND -knowing when to look for another route out of the drifts.

I base this on several trips - my most notable one - where my skills were balanced against the safety of my family in 1978 - we set off from Teeside to be followed by snow -a total blizard .In hindsight ,we should have sought shelter , but we soldiered on ,as roads were being closed behind us ,and shelter was not visible .We rescued one van driver on the A697 , fortunate for him ,we were going to his destination -in Rosyth .Carter Bar was shut ,being diverted through other places .Several hours later we dropped our passenger off - the car - Austin Maxi 1750 with mitchelen ZX on front .And me ,with several months of driving said road at wheel .

Today ,in Furby , I'm not phased by snow or Ice - given a good car , all things are possible .I'm here today ,complete with my family ,and we all remember that trip .

I think you are being a little blinkered imho. I have driven in snow quite a bit in my time too and find today’s cars much more difficult to manage than the ones I first drove. My Dads Horizon and Allegro where pretty easy compared to my last Octy and current 1 series. To say you managed pretty well in those days is a bit like saying we managed pretty well without ABS too, but personally, I wouldn’t be without it now. Similarly I like having Winter tyres too, it’s just they weren’t available when I was younger but now that they are and I can afford to use them, it’s a no brainer.

The Winter tyre issue has come to a head because of this recent winter, but I used them last winter and thought they were great in all conditions.

I think you are being a little blinkered imho. I have driven in snow quite a bit in my time too and find today’s cars much more difficult to manage than the ones I first drove. My Dads Horizon and Allegro where pretty easy compared to my last Octy and current 1 series. To say you managed pretty well in those days is a bit like saying we managed pretty well without ABS too, but personally, I wouldn’t be without it now. Similarly I like having Winter tyres too, it’s just they weren’t available when I was younger but now that they are and I can afford to use them, it’s a no brainer.

The Winter tyre issue has come to a head because of this recent winter, but I used them last winter and thought they were great in all conditions.

The biggest disadvantage with new cars in the snow is the width of the tyres...the older cars (escorts, maxis and the like) were running round on 145 or at most 165 widths and so used to bite into the snow much better, what with that and 8 concrete blocks in the back of an old escort rear wheel drive estae it went any where

The biggest disadvantage with new cars in the snow is the width of the tyres...the older cars (escorts, maxis and the like) were running round on 145 or at most 165 widths and so used to bite into the snow much better, what with that and 8 concrete blocks in the back of an old escort rear wheel drive estae it went any where

It’s even worse than just the width, you should try rock hard, inflexible, run flats. You would be better off strapping Teflon coated eels to your wheels :(

Perhaps there should be a no 10 petition on the matter of making winter tyres law?

In my opinion and i have expressed it on quite a few occasions, is that Winter Tyres should be made compulsory by Law in GB, just as it is in some other countries. I beleive that it should be an EU decision to make it compulsory throughout most of Europe for that matter.

It does not matter how good any individual driver is. I can easily drive with poor tyres in the snow. I drive constantly off road is slippery conditions every day I am used to it. What does matter is that the vast majority of drivers can not, As has been stated modern cars tend to be poor in the snow due to overly wide low profile slick type tyres. It matters that some one else may drive into me or my family because of inadequate tyres. It matters that many people may be forced to spend a cold night in their car because someone ahead may have caused a blockage in the road because they have inadequate tyres. It matters to the economy of the country that people do not stay away from work due to having inadequate tyres. The technology is available to make the roads safer we have to be forced by law to change our tyres when they are worn because many people would not take on the responsibility of self regulation the same is true concerning winter tyres.

Make the useWinter tyres Law in GB and Most if not all of the EU during the winter months.

Edited 11 January, 201016 yr by Anthony 1

Make the useWinter tyres Law in GB and Most if not all of the EU during the winter months.[/font]

Seconded. Well, maybe Portugal might be excused.

Here in Sweden winter tyres (proper M+S tyres) are compulsory December 1st - March 31st if road conditions are 'wintry', i.e. snow/ice on the road. And a very good rule that is. OK, VWD is right in saying that driving with planning and foresight is crucial (no matter what tyres you use) and can take you a long way, but not every traffic incident can be foreseen (wildlife, children, reckless drivers). And there are conditions when 20 mph on summer tyres is a reckless speed - but if you go that slowly you cause a lot of irritation among us who have mounted proper tyres.

I'm a big fan of studs, I can well understand that they're seldom of any use in the UK and therefore can be ruled out, but decent friction M+S tyres can prevent a lot of unpleasantness.

Edited 11 January, 201016 yr by swedishskoda

Make the useWinter tyres Law in GB and Most if not all of the EU during the winter months.

Judging by Road Wars, Traffic Cops etc the police find it hard enough to get a lot of the motorists to tax / insure / MOT / have legal tyres and so on in the first place.

Every single traffic cop could spend all day every day fining drivers for not having winter tyres fitted if it became law!

Judging by Road Wars, Traffic Cops etc the police find it hard enough to get a lot of the motorists to tax / insure / MOT / have legal tyres and so on in the first place.

Every single traffic cop could spend all day every day fining drivers for not having winter tyres fitted if it became law!

I agree, if we can’t get the little scrotes to insure and tax their cars, what hope have we to get them to use winter tyres. Most of them run round on illegally modified cars (ie they don’t tell their insurance about the mods).

I agree, if we can’t get the little scrotes to insure and tax their cars, what hope have we to get them to use winter tyres. Most of them run round on illegally modified cars (ie they don’t tell their insurance about the mods).

SO the no winter tyres gives the police a good excuse to check the insurance and modifications at the same time, take the car and have it crushed, then fine the driver for driving without insurance.

SO the no winter tyres gives the police a good excuse to check the insurance and modifications at the same time, take the car and have it crushed, then fine the driver for driving without insurance.

I have a hunch that the police can smell a naughty motor at a hundred yards and that’s without even switching on their magic camera

I have a hunch that the police can smell a naughty motor at a hundred yards and that’s without even switching on their magic camera

apparently the have confiscated 8 from drunk drivers in the Edinburgh area alone over Christmas - nice new power and they're going for it. I agree with the postings about winter tyres though, mine have made an amazing difference. We get snow every single year though it normally doesn't last for three or four weeks, but we it's cold enough for long enough to justify winter tyres.

Likewise back when I was learning to drive in my RWD Skoda 120L it had narrow tyres which made it a delight to handle in the snow.

Likewise back when I was learning to drive in my RWD Skoda 120L it had narrow tyres which made it a delight to handle in the snow.

mmm, yes! Can remember the Citroën GS I had back in the 70's, only car I never got winter tyres for (although we had some cold and snowy winters back then). Merc taxis with studded winter tyres stood spinning on the slopes while I sailed past on my summer Michelin zX. Dimension? 145/15

Judging by Road Wars, Traffic Cops etc the police find it hard enough to get a lot of the motorists to tax / insure / MOT / have legal tyres and so on in the first place.

Every single traffic cop could spend all day every day fining drivers for not having winter tyres fitted if it became law!

Saw one last night, an 86 year man in a Metro, no license, no MOT, no tax, no insurance. The man said "it's all to expensive so I don't bother" But the po-po's were really nice to him, if that guy was 26 then he'd have a court date!

I have been told that in scandinavian countries when you buy a car it comes with 2 sets of wheels (the second set having winter tyres).....

My colleagues in Slovakia tell me that winter tyres are compulsory from October 1st over there.

When I've been to snowy countries you see all the posh Beemers and Audis driving around with tatty untrimmed steel wheels with their snow tyres on. Should we have to do it in this country? No idea. As always, with our climate, it depends.........

Phil

I have been told that in scandinavian countries when you buy a car it comes with 2 sets of wheels (the second set having winter tyres).....

More or less. Unless you live in the south and never go out of town, most people have two sets. If you buy a new car, part of the negotiation can be to get the dealer to add a set of winter tyres. If you buy second hand, winter tyres often follows (unless the present owner bought a new car with same wheel dimensions).

I agree, if we can’t get the little scrotes to insure and tax their cars, what hope have we to get them to use winter tyres.

Making it law would mean that everyone with a company car would have them - that's a fair proportion. Certainly it's possible or even likely that there'd still be people refusing to bother (and far more whining that it's another "tax on the innocent motorist" or some such crap) but I think it'd still help. I'm not allowed winter tyres on my car - can't even buy and fit them myself or the insurance is invalidated.