ATS-E highlights October-March cold weather commuting

Tyre dealers have often emphasised the improvement in performance at sub-seven degrees Celsius that cold weather tyres offer, but the relatively mild weather of the 2011/12 winter may have diminished the upward momentum of consumer interest in the product. However, ATS Euromaster argues that an analysis of UK temperatures during peak driving hours in even the last winter shows that fitting cold weather products would have been worthwhile. Temperatures dropped below seven degrees Celsius during prime commuting hours on 147 separate days between 1 October 2011 and 31 March 2012. The statistics, provided by the Met Office, cover temperatures in 10 major UK cities from 7:00 till 9:00 and 16:00 till 18:00.

Of the 10 cities studied, Newcastle upon Tyne recorded the highest number of days where temperatures dropped below the seven degree Celsius threshold with 129. Leeds had the second highest number with 122, just ahead of the Scottish cities of Aberdeen and Glasgow, which registered 118 days and 117 days respectively.

Liverpool was the city with the fewest days below seven degrees Celsius at 78, with London just behind: registering 80 days. Other cities analysed included Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast and Birmingham.

The month with the highest average number of days recorded below seven degrees Celsius during primary commuting times was January 2012, with more than 25 days. December 2011 was the second highest with 24 days, while October was the lowest with an average of just six days below the threshold.

Corresponding data from winter 2010/2011 highlights the harsher winter experienced in the UK. Temperatures dropped below seven degrees Celsius during prime commuting hours on 169 separate days, meaning the UK only experienced 13 days over the six month period where cold weather tyres wouldn’t have delivered benefits in at least one region of the UK during commuting hours.

ATS Euromaster places £10m cold weather order

Following up this statistical analysis, ATS-E has announced an initial order for more than £10 million worth of car and van cold weather tyre stocks for winter 2012/2013. Peter Fairlie, group sales director, says: “Although we didn’t see a great deal of snow during this period, these statistics highlight that cold weather tyres are still a valuable safety feature worth having, even during a mild UK winter.”

Modern rubber compound technology and advances in tread pattern design mean that today’s cold weather tyres deliver considerably shorter stopping distances for cars and vans on both wet and dry roads at low temperatures, in addition to their impressive traction credentials on snow, slush and ice.  They also ensure increased longevity compared with summer tyres during winter motoring; conditions which would normally see tyre life reduced by up to 20 per cent.

Analysis: Number of days on which the temperature was below seven degrees Celsius