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It's time to show the winter who's in charge!

– We really do have such a climate. It is not surprising that in February there is snow and bitter frost. It is strange that we do not have – as the only ones in Europe with such a climate – regulations on winter and all-season tyres. And that there are a large number of drivers riding on summer rubber, the tread of which has plastic hardness in such weather. They're not driving carefully. They stand carelessly – blocking the roads and creating blockages, because they are unable to drive up the slightest hill. How many more bumps and accidents have to happen due to snow to introduce in our country, like in other 29 European countries, a clear obligation to drive on winter or all-season tyres? – alarms Piotr Sarnecki, General Director of the Polish Tyre Industry Association (PTIA).

In 29 European countries that have introduced a requirement to drive on winter or all-season tyres, the law specifies the period or conditions of such regulations. Most of them are specific calendar dates – such regulations exist in as many as 16 countries. Only 2 countries have this obligation defined by road conditions. Specifying the date of the requirement is the best solution in this case – it is a clear and precise provision, leaving no doubts.

Driving on winter or approved all-seasons tyres means an average 46% reduction in the probability of a road accident compared to driving summer tyres – these are the conclusions of the European Commission study of selected aspects of tyre use related to safety^[2]. This report also proved that in countries where the requirement for winter approved tyres was introduced as a legal requirement – reduction in the number of fatal accidents was noticed on average by 3% – and there are countries that have seen a 20% drop in accidents. In all countries that require winter tyres, this also includes all-season tyres.

Requirements of winter tyres in Europe:

Regulation	Country
Calendar obligation (specified by different dates)	Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia Sweden, Finland Belarus, Russia, Norway, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldavia, Macedonia, Turkey
An obligation depending only on weather conditions	Germany, Luxemburg
Mixed obligation calendar-wheather	Austria, Croatia, Romania, Slovakia
An obligation imposed by signs	Spain, France, Italy
The driver's obligation to adapt the car to winter and the financial consequences of causing an accident with summer tyres	Switzerland, Liechtenstein

Poland is the only country in the European Union with such a climate where the regulations do not provide for the requirement to drive winter or all-season tyres in autumn and winter conditions. Workshop observations still show that as many as 1/3, i.e. about 6 million drivers, drive summer tyres in winter[3]. This indicates that there should be clear rules – from which date such tyres should be fitted to a car. Every year, for several decades, over 3,000 people die on Polish roads and almost half a million accidents and road collisions occur. We all pay our bills for this data with rising insurance rates.

Summer tyres do not provide adequate adhesion of the car even on a dry road at temperatures below 7ºC - then the rubber compound in their tread hardens, which deteriorates the grip, especially on wet, slippery roads. The braking distance is lengthened and the ability to transmit torque to the road surface is significantly reduced[4]. The rubber compound of the tread of winter and all-season tyres is softer, and thanks to silica, it does not harden at lower temperatures. This means that they do not lose elasticity and have better grip than summer tyres in cold weather, even on a dry road, in rain, and especially on snow.

Recordings from Auto Express and RAC tests on winter tyres[5] show how much tyres adequate to the temperature, humidity and slippery surface help the driver to control the vehicle and confirm the difference between winter and summer tyres – not only on snowy roads, but also on wet roads while cool autumn and winter temperatures:

• On a snow-covered road, at a speed of 48 km/h, a car with winter tyres will brake earlier than a car with summer tyres by 31 meters!
• On wet roads, at a speed of 80 km/h and a temperature of + 6 ° C, the braking distance of a car running on summer tyres was longer by as much as 7 meters than that of a car running on winter tyres. The most popular cars are just over 4 meters long. When the car with winter tyres came to a safe stop, the machine with summer tyres was still driving at a speed of over 32 km / h.
• On a wet surface, at a speed of 90 km/h and a temperature of + 2 ° C, the braking distance of a car running on summer tyres was longer by as much as 11 meters than that of a car running on winter tyres.

Remember that approved winter and all-season tyres are those with the so-called alpine symbol – snowflake on mountain background. The M + S symbol, which can still be found on the tyres, is only a description of the suitability of the tread for mud and snow, however, it is given discretionally by tyre manufacturers. Tyres with M + S alone, but without the snow flake symbol on the mountain, lack the softer winter rubber compound - which is crucial in cold conditions. A self-contained M + S without an Alpine symbol means that the tyre is neither a winter nor an all-season tyre.

Source: Polish Tyre Industry Association

 

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