Morning temperatures make winter tyres necessary
Posted by Tom Benjamin
Motorists may think that they do not need to invest in winter tyres until temperatures drop below freezing and snow starts to fall in the UK, but they would be wrong, Kwik Fit has claimed.
The company asserts that seven degrees Celsius is the figure that drivers need to watch out for, as the performance of summer tyres deteriorates at this temperature.
On wet roads, winter tyres will stop 4.8 metres shorter than summer tyres and on icy roads the stopping difference extends to 11 metres.
Research published by Kwik Fit shows that the temperature has fallen to seven degrees Celsius or below between 08:00 and 09:00 on 23 out of the last 25 days.
Ian Fraser, chief executive of Kwik Fit, said: "Most drivers will find they are driving in conditions below seven degrees Celsius for far longer than they imagine."
Last month, the Institute of Advanced Motorists warned commuters that the sun's glare is particularly strong during rush hours now that the clocks have gone back.
