Motorists gets winter tyre advice

Motorists are being reminded that they can stay safe and mobile on the roads, whatever the weather, by fitting winter weather tyres.

Designed to provide better grip in cold and damp conditions compared with normal ‘summer’ tyres, winter tyres are ideal for Irish roads right the way from October through to the spring, when temperatures rarely rise above 7 degrees Celsius, as well in rarer but more extreme conditions such as snow and ice.

“We’ve had one of the mildest autumns on record, but the colder, wetter weather is now most definitely here bringing with it more hazardous driving conditions,” explains Stuart Jackson, chairman, TyreSafe. “While we can’t know for sure if we will experience snow this year, we can be certain that drivers fitting winter tyres will have better grip and safety, throughout the entire winter period.”

Many drivers mistakenly think that winter tyres only offer benefits when they are driving on snow and ice but the reality is very different. As temperatures drop below 7 degrees, the tread compound in normal tyres begins to harden, providing reduced levels of grip. Winter weather tyres contain more natural rubber which minimises the hardening effect, giving them extra grip in cold, wet and icy conditions. Indeed, tests conducted by the British Tyre Manufacturers Association found that a car braking at 60mph on a wet road at 5 degrees Celsius stopped five metres shorter, equivalent to more than one car length, when fitted with winter weather tyres.