Better to be prepared. It could be wrong but if they are right then if you took precautions then the impact will be much less.

Well, yeah. We always plan for a bad spell of weather, especially in the winter. Canned foods, dry foods, even milk in the freezer, just in case we get stuck and can't go out.

Everyone should do this, but it seems most people just don't think far enough ahead and have to be warned.

"Folks, it, like, er, gets cold in the winter, y'know?"

Should I be thinking about getting winter tyres for my car?

I know that Dave raves about them and won't go through the winter without.

Last year I did have a big skid in my car and almost went sideways into the ring road but managed to get control back quickly and avoid any disaster.

I don't really want to risk that at all this year.

Having said that, the skid was on compacted ice so would winter tyres help in that situation?

I would, but I'm a cheap skate.

If you can afford it, then yes.

I was lucky that I'd just had a new set of normal tyres fitted last October. The treads gave enough grip that the little red machine seemed reasonably sure-footed through most of the bad stuff. Mind you, we didn't go out unless we had to, and we were lucky we didn't need to go out more than once during a whole ten days or so.

Yes.

Simples.


That's because they're a legal requirement in Germany.

It WAS exceptional here. It rarely snows for anything longer than a day in Cornwall. Especially at the coast. Not exactly my favourite situation, as driving as downright dangerous, but it's very difficult to do anything without a car around here.

It also ruins our sub-tropical climate and all the lovely palm trees and such like. It was pretty though and we've had an awesome year for sun ever since the snow let up, so any move toward a more Denver-like climate is welcomed by me.

I’d need a second set of wheels then, and somewhere to store the spare set. Wheels ain’t cheap, and neither are my rear tyres.

Why would you need a second set of wheels?

Yes but unless you get regular snow they are not worth it. Dave probably gets snow every year. In northern Sweden it is mandatory but then in southern Sweden it may rarely see deep snow and so they are not needed. Though when it does snow a lot in Stockholm you can see how badly they cope. Ice is a problem in the south in the north on studded tyres it is much less of a problem.

Yes they are, many cope with temperatures upto around +5 or 10 degress (dave will know more) as well as below freezing.

TBH with our climate I'm not sure why they're not compulsory.

We're a funny country though - we're mostly spread in a line from North to South which means that for some areas the weather's radically different from other areas.
Liverpool has a cold snap, ice, snow and hail, while here on the South Coast we think about putting on a jumper and tut that the weather's turned nippy.
There are still people at work wearing shorts, after all.
So, frankly, compulsory winter tyres where I am would be an expensive two weeks. Unless the government wants to issue me with tyres for use over handful of days we have here on the Riviera that would warrant their use, I'll just take more care.

I would imagine for the same reason I would, low profile tyres. On my car it needs 16" wheels for winter tyres.

I wouldn't worry too much about winter tyres, just buy good "normal" tires. The difference in tread performance between a set of Pirelli P6000's and a set of budget tires is noticeable.

Same here but last year we only had about three days when the snow actually settled. Normally we could go for years with out a snowflake. Also snow tyres damage the road, so are banned the rest of the time. In Sweden they are only used on ice, but you could be driving on ice 20 cm thick, and that would be in the town centre.