Winter Driving - Manage the Risk!

Black Ice - is an excuse! (Ever seen Black Water?) Look for where ice forms, in shadows, hollows, under trees, on bridges (wind under the bridge deck chills the road) or where the wind on exposed areas where wind chills the road. Manage the risk - look for it and avoid it or slow down before it.

Ice is frozen water - you won't get ice on a DRY road.

Listen - to the noise of your tyres on a wet road. Cold outside, road looks wet, not hearing that wet sound? You could be on ice - Manage the risk -slow down or move away.

Gritting - has the road been gritted? Are there any signs of grit traces in the gutter? Does the side road look different? Salt water makes the road slime and slippery, so whilst better than ice, it is still a problem - Manage the risk, slow down, keep space.

Fog - is worst when it i patchy. Follow at a longer-than-normal distance - if the view ahead diminishes, Manage the risk by slowing down until the view improves,and using rear fog lights only in dense fog (legally permitted only when less than 100 metres visibility). In a queue if the guy behind looks red faced, red-eyed, try turning rear fog lights off!.

Floodwater - how deep is it? Don't be the one to get stuck. Manage the risk let someone else go first to check the level, or get out and check. If you decide to go, keep your speed low to stop water flooding into the engine area, but use first gear to keep engine speed high enough to keep water out of the exhaust. What might be hidden in the water - debris, kerbs etc.?

High Winds - at night especially on poor lit roads, go slowly enough to allow for unlit debris in the road.

Snow - apart from the reduced grip, what is it hiding? Kerbs? Ice? How deep is it? Manage the risk - if you don't know don't go!

Driving a distance? Conditions change as you travel - different councils, different gritting priorities, different temperatures and climate, etc. Manage the risk - in a new area watch for frost on parked cars or in the side road, look for evidence of gritting. Don't know? Go slow.

Different drivers? - The drivers around you might just have passed their test yesterday. Manage the risk Drive for them, keep space and allow for their errors. Whilst it may be their fault, its still your problem!

PREPARATION is the key -self (good sleep, allow plenty more time, check forecasts), vehicle (serviced, equipped with torch, warm clothes etc), route (use main roads, avoid minor or estate roads).

Manage the risk Nothing is so important as to warrant risking your life.

Article submitted by Olaf Svendsen.

 

 

Why fit winter tyres?

In many other European countries it is a common practice for drivers to fit winter tyres in late autumn and revert to summer tyres in the late spring, so why is this not the case in the UK?

Ask any British driver about winter tyres and their answer is likely to relate in some way to snow or ice covered roads. Ask a British driver how often they encounter snow or ice and the answer is likely to range from very infrequently to occasionally depending upon where they are located in the British Isles.

The perception that winter tyres only give benefits on snow or ice is years out of date. Modern rubber compound technology and advances in tread pattern design mean that the modern day winter tyre also provides higher levels of road safety on cold and damp road surfaces too. (Perhaps a more apt name for winter tyres would now be "Cold Weather" tyres).

Much progress has been made over the last twenty-five years and tyre technology is now at a very advanced level. New vehicle concepts, combined with tyres ideally adapted to requirements, have made driving noticeably safer today. The benefits are persuasive - substantially increased mileage performance, less weight, reduced rolling resistance and considerably shorter braking distances on both wet and dry roads all speak for themselves.

As vehicle design and technology has advanced, tyre design has had to do the same but it is unreasonable to expect one tyre type to provide high safety levels with temperature ranges varying by more than 40°C which has been experienced in Britain within the last few years. This is why specialist tyres have been developed over many years. To enable them to develop their potential to the full, there is one crucial aspect - they have to have balanced characteristics.

7oC Threshold

Ambient temperature is a deciding factor on which tyre type provides the highest safety for road users. It is the BTMA's view that most drivers will adopt a different driving style when snow is on the ground and when temperatures drop below zero degrees. Why? Because such conditions are either very visible or very apparent to the driver. However, cold damp road conditions visibly are no different to damp conditions in the warmer months; hence drivers will tend not to adjust driving style to suit. Therefore, it is potentially these latter road conditions which present the highest risks.

Research shows these potentially hazardous conditions are most likely to be encountered when the ambient temperature drops below 7oC, which in the UK means between October and April. Also of interest is the frequency of vehicle damage insurance claims which increases sharply with the onset of the cold season.

Braking on wet roads

On damp or wet roads, tyres grip differently - and the braking distance is substantially longer. Which means the question of the right tyres and the temperature is even more important.
Over 7oC - between April and October – traditional summer tyres are truly in their element. Between October and April – Cold weather winter tyres show distinct safety advantages.

Braking on snow and ice covered roads

On snow- or ice-covered roads only winter tyres reduce the braking distance by those vital metres. The comparison below proves the point.

Temperature dependent rubber compounds

When ambient temperatures fall below 7oC the molecules in tread rubber progressively harden and freeze. This means the tyre is less able to adapt to the contour of the road surface, which in turn reduces grip levels. With winter tyre rubber compounds there is a higher proportion of natural rubber and coupled with extended use of silica technology they minimise the hardening effect at low temperatures allowing the tyre to key into the road surface, resulting in higher grip levels.
Together with highly developed multi sipe tread patterns the combination is such that no summer tyre can match.
These illustrations show clearly that below 7oC, whether the roads are covered in snow, ice or simply damp or wet, winter tyres provide a clear safety advantage.

 

Acknowledgements British Tyre Manufacturer's Association

 

New Associates who have joined us

A warm welcome to

Anne Triona Horrocks

Tony Griffiths

Harry Tilsley

 

Associates passed since last meeting

Congratulations to :-

Lesley Simpson

Andrew Latham

Bob Silver

John O’Riordan