The best way to stay safe when driving during the winter conditions is to make sure that you have proper tyres for your vehicle and the surrounding conditions. If you live in an area that has winter weather, you will need proper winter tyres for safe driving. In most places it is illegal to drive without winter tyres and if you end up in an accident and you don’t have winter approved tyres, you can end up in big problems with your insurance.
It isn’t only winter tyresthat are approved fir winter use as also all-season tyres can be approved. If they are approved, they will have a symbol indicating that they are approved. The winter-approved symbol is a mountaintop with three peaks and a snowflake symbol inside it. If your tyre has this on the sidewall, your tyre is approved for winter conditions. This means that it has been rigorously tested before being approved and that it can handle the conditions that are prevalent during the winter months.
For winter tyres you have two different winter tyre options to choose from, studded tyres and the non-studded tyres. These both have completely different rubber compound which remains soft during the sub-zero temperatures. When a summer tyre would get hard and exhibit almost zero traction, the winter tyre will remain agile and able to conform to the surfaces it faces. The tread design is also different and the grooves are wider to be able to handle slush and snow.
Studdedtyres will have metal studs incorporated into the tread of the tyre. With the studs protruding from the tread, this will give the tyres great grip on ice and tightly packed snow. This allows for great control when turning, accelerating or stopping. The non-studded tyresare able to achieve this with innovative tread design, where sipes are acting as claws on the icy surfaces. They also have cryo-crystal additives are incorporated into the tread, to create sandpaper like surface. This will give the non-studded tyres almost the same grip on icy surfaces and the same on snow.
It is not only the fact that you need excellent winter tyres to drive safely during the winter, you also need to be more cautious when driving. Adjusting your speed to the surroundings is essential. You need to reduce your speed a bit and keep longer distances to the cars in front of you. Your braking distance is increased during the winter conditions, so make sure that you adjust for this fact. If you follow all this, you can remain safe when you drive during the winter. If you don’t have long winters and very varying weather conditions, you might be better off with winter approved all-season tyres that can handle any winter condition. They are great for both dry and wet roads both in summer and winter but then also snowy and icy roads during the winter. You have all-year safety and protection against the weather, which makes them very convenient.
For more information regarding winter tyres for safe driving during the winter, visit: https://www.nokiantyres.com/
