Winter road crash stats prove cold weather tyres vital, claim ATS
VITAL: Cold weather tyres could cut crashes
Cold weather tyres are vital in battling winter road accidents, ATS Euromaster have claimed, after figures showed 6,217 crashes were caused by snow and ice last year.
Department for Transport statistics show that treacherous conditions caused 5,070 car accidents, while a further 324 light goods vehicles were also involved in accidents due to wintery conditions.
A further 186 involved pedal bikes, with 336 involving motorcycles, 149 involving HGVs and 75 involving buses and coaches.
ATS claim that vehicle and fleet owners must now prepare their vehicles for the winter months ahead.
Peter Fairlie, Group Sales Director of ATS Euromaster, said: “Don’t wait until your light commercial vehicles become stranded and can’t make deliveries, or one of your company cars slides out of control and causes an accident.
“Fitting cold weather tyres is a straightforward and cost-effective way to help your fleet not only stay safer when the temperatures plummet, but mobile too.
“The Department for Transport statistics prove how dangerous UK roads can be during winter.
“It’s little wonder we’ve continued to see an uptake in fleet managers equipping cars and vans with cold weather tyres.”
Statistics also revealed skidding to be the most common form of accident for car and van drivers on wintery roads, with 2,198 combined cases in 2012 alone.
Cold weather tyres offer improved grip, handling, cornering and reduced braking distances below seven degrees-Celsius – at which point the performance of ‘summer’ tyres deteriorates as the rubber becomes harder and less ‘elastic’.
As a result, summer tyres suffer from reduced grip and braking ability, and deliver a less comfortable ride.
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Surely we need a all round tyre on our vehicles in the UK. The weather here changes at the drop of a hat. We can have hot days in Feb, so we would be caught out with our “winter” tyres. Someone (ATS, tyre manufactures and anyone else lining there pockets) will always say accidents may have been prevented if you had winter tyres fitted.
Is there an argument that winter tyres should not be used in the summer. I have not heard of an incident where winter tyres have caused an accident in the summer.
I have them on a Volvo S60 that I use for winter time. I absolutely recommend them to any driver. Even in temps of approx. 6 degrees they are worthwhile when driving in wet conditions.
Snow tyres in winter are great, but it leads to a false sense of security and many drivers think they can still do the same speed they do in summer in winter. That being said, people who spend extra money on extra tyres for winter, tend to be sensible enough to reduce their speed accordingly.