FLEETS should consider a policy of swapping the tyres on their cars for specialist winter versions.

Winter tyres are generally most effective from 7°C and below, which the industry suggests is ‘when there is an R in the month’.

The rubber compound in the tyre does not harden in cold weather like summer tyres, which means they can grip the road more effectively in cold, wet conditions, so stopping distances can be reduced by up to 15%.

In the UK, fewer than 100,000 tyres were sold in the past year, while in Austria sales were more than three million and in Germany more than 19 million.

However, members of the Scotland regional meeting of ACFO, the fleet managers’ association, heard that currently storage facilities could not cope with demand for tyre swapping twice a year.