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Should You Fit Winter Tyres To Your Van?

Despite an unseasonably warm festive period in the UK – where people found themselves enjoying a balmy 13C on Christmas Day – freezing temperatures are all but guaranteed for January and February, with plenty of people already facing the brunt of traditional climates in the north.

With these conditions comes icy and snowy road conditions – not the best time to be a van driver. But is Europe’s answer to the issue – winter tyres – worth buying and fitting?

Winter tyres aren’t compulsory for plenty of reasons…

The AA, which makes it its business to recommend only the safest practices on the road, notes there are several reasons why the UK, unlike Scandinavia, does not make winter tyres a compulsory purchase. Aside from the relatively obvious fact that “many parts of the country never, or only rarely, experience weather conditions that would justify use of winter tyres”, there’s a simple fact of snow and ice: drivers decide against taking to the roads in those conditions. Pretty straightforward.

…but the consensus is they’re not worth the money.

Yet a firm closing point to its winter tyre focus, the AA also points out that if the industry could “supply tyres in sufficient volume, the overall cost would be prohibitive”, a £500 cost average for a set of tyres – multiplied by the 30 million vehicles on our roads – would cost the UK £15 billion for new tyres, if this figure also includes fitting and storage costs. 

Consumer champion Which? Car’s senior researcher Rob Hull echoes this. He adds: “[W]ould a set of winter tyres have helped you get around [on a very snowy day]? Yes, probably. Are they worth buying? No, definitely not.”

Echoing the AA, he remarks that he lives in “Stamford, not Stockholm”, and that for the sake of two weeks a year – if that – it’s a useless investment, especially if you’re operating in an urban area. You do pay council tax for gritters, after all.

 

What if I want to use them all year round, just to be on the safe side?

Well, you would probably be a lot less safe in a van than you’d realise. Guru of four wheels, Honest John, explained recently to a motorhome owner that fitting them all year round could spell all kinds of danger when the better weather returns in the summer months: “I would not have full cold weather tyres on a heavy vehicle like a motorhome all year round because the heat generated during a long motorway run at 30C+ ambient could blow a tyre. Go for all-weather [tyres].”

So, there you have it. Unless you’re in the darkest mountains of Scotland or navigating northern Europe in an international courier role, then it’ll be more cost effective to just stay at home – or find an alternative way to get the job done.

 

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