you live in Poland now. You don’t know what you are talking about.

Plus I can barely afford normal tyres let alone another set for winter.

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Well, that’s a perceptive comment from Jake (number 1) about living in Poland.

Being less judgemental about people who live in Poland, I agree with Trev Hill about winter tyres.

They are very effective and Jake might be interested to know that (in Europe) they cost the same as standard tyres and can be used all year round. In fact, due to their composition, they are safer than standard tyres in all seasons, offering better grip and stopping ability. If one drives hard and fast, they may no last as long as standard tyres, but by careful driving, I have never had a set wear before 15,000 miles use.

In rip-off Britain, however, there are two problems which diminish their attractiveness.

1) Unlike every other country in Europe and North America, winter tyres have a large premium put on them in the UK – they are quite expensive in comparison to standard tyres. No special reason for this, it’s just a way of trying to extract more money from the motorist. The excuse that they are hard to find is only because they are not promoted well or priced fairly to make them attractive to buy, so demand remains low.

2) More importantly, unlike every other country in Europe and North America, insurers in the UK regard their attachment to a car as a “modification” rather than simply an “approved tyre” and thus any use must be notified to them, upon which they charge an additional premium on the insurance policy. Only in rip-off Britain would an insurance company regard a safety feature as a means of hoovering in more money from the motorist. Their public reasoning (i.e. not the private profit motive) appears to be that winter tyres would catch out other motorists – the improved braking would risk them going into the back of you and the improved grip would encourage reckless driving.

I have winter tyres on the car that I use in Europe. I also have chains available for the passes in Northern Italy. I don’t have 4 wheel drive, but with these tyres (and sometimes chains), I have never been stuck.

Thanks to profiteers and blinkered insurers, I could never be sure about getting to where I want to in the snow in UK however.

Certainly not the long dangerous journey from South Telford to Wombridge.

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I lived in Canada for over 25 years and drove through most of the winters using winter tyres. I had them fitted to a second set of wheels (cheap steel ones, but perfectly good) to facilitate easy changing at the beginning of winter and at the end. These were not studded (illegal in some provinces) but have a special composition and tread pattern. They are VERY effective. The difference between so-called “all-season” and winter tyres is the difference between day and night. They do wear quickly though, but you’re not using your summer tyres. You have to change them over in spring. BTW, don’t be tempted to buy just two. That’s the best way to spin right off the road. With four winter tyres you can forget 4WD- not necessary unless you’re going off road. In fact, my FWD car with winter tyres could out-perform 4WD with summer tyres. Don’t forget- technique is as important as the equipment. Any fool can buy expensive stuff. having the intelligance to use it is another matter.

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I’ve rode and driven all sorts of motor cycles and cars/vans, over a period of nearly 40yrs and never felt the need to want to change my tyres (other than when needed)to drive in the snow. Its all about common sense really and taking a bit of extra care with your driving and planning your journey ahead to take all things into account. Too many people seem to be in a rush to get everywhere, regardless of the weather conditions, nowadays,and expect a perfectly clear road ahead. Well as we know this isn’t always possible, due to many factors.

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