Do winter tyres or cold weather tyres really make a difference?

A:

One way fleets can help to reduce the risk of vehicles being off the road through collisions in the colder, wetter months is to use either dedicated winter tyres or the new generation of all-season tyres.

These provide greater traction in difficult conditions than standard tyres, making it less likely collisions will occur.

Ian Foster, sales manager for car fleets at Continental, says: “Continental encourages drivers to consider changing their tyres when the temperature falls below 7C.

“At this temperature, winter tyres provide better grip and traction on snowy, icy roads. For those who experience milder winters, an all-season tyre is a suitable alternative.”

Many fast-fits offer a ‘tyre hotel’ service which allows fleets to store their standard tyres when the winter ones are in use, but Collier says this policy creates its own downtime when tyres are switched over, as well as extra cost.

“(All-season tyres) put an end to the costly process of switching tyres as the seasons change – a process which can impact heavily on vehicle availability when it affects an entire fleet,” he adds.

Tyresafe, an independant road safety charity, tested the effectiveness of winter tyres.

It found that: