Winter tyres left out in the cold

UK motorists appear unmoved by the ‘huge safety benefits’ winter tyres offer motorists in adverse weather conditions, according to What Car?.

Tests carried out by What Car? show that in snowy conditions some summer tyres take more than twice the stopping distance compared with winter tyres. When braking on sheet ice from 12mph, the average stopping distance for winter tyres was 12.5 metres and for summer tyres 19 metres. Winter tyres also perform better than summer tyres on wet roads when the temperature falls below 7C.

What Car? Says that just 10% of UK motorists swapped to winter rubber last year, while a further 5% tried but failed due to a shortage of tyres.

Chas Hallett, What Car? editor-in-chief, said: “Winter tyres make for much safer winter driving, so we would encourage all motorists to change their tyres in the colder months. Used in this way a set of winter tyres will last motorists several years.”

For more information contact Karen Parry on 020 8267 5553.