All posts by Steve

Why are Tyres Important? Most drivers know that snow and ice can dramatically affect their safety on the road. Steering, acceleration and braking are more difficult as normal tyres have less grip in these conditions. However, it is not just these extreme wintry conditions which can reduce your safety on the road. Even cold, damp roads can dramatically affect the performance of tyres, leading to an increased accident risk. Thankfully though, tyre manufacturers have developed a range of winter weather tyres which are specifically designed to operate in these conditions, delivering improved safety throughout the entire winter period.

Hazardous Conditions

While snow and ice present the most obvious hazard to motorists, most drivers change their driving style to suit these conditions.

However, cold, damp roads are visually no different to wet conditions in the warmer months and drivers tend not to adjust their driving style. A tyre’s performance though, is significantly reduced by this combination of conditions, making cold damp roads one of the highest

Tyre Technology

Air temperature is a crucial factor in a tyre’s ability to perform. When the temperature drops below 7°C, the tread compound in normal tyres begins to harden, providing less grip. The tread compound in winter weather tyres contains more natural rubber and advanced silica compounds to minimise the hardening effect, giving extra grip and shorter stopping distances in cold, damp conditions. Together with sophisticated multi-sipe tread patterns, the combination is one that no summer tyre can match, making winter weather tyres the safest option from October through to March, when temperatures rarely rise above 7°C. This especially applies to commuters and business motorists who are on the roads in coldest conditions in the early morning and evening.

Tests conducted by the British Tyre Manufacturers’ Association found that a car braking at 60mph on a wet road at 5°C stopped five metres shorter, equivalent to more than one car length, when fitted with winter weather tyres.

Checks for all

All drivers, irrespective of whether they fit winter weather tyres or not, should carry out regular checks throughout the winter to ensure their tyres are in the best possible condition for maximum safety.

In winter tread depth should be checked to ensure it is well above the legal minimum of 1.6mm across the central 3/4 of the tyre, around its entire circumference. TyreSafe has developed the 20p test for a simple and quick way to test your tyres’ tread depth.

Tyre pressures should be checked at least once a month or before a long journey. Pressures should be checked when the tyres are cold (i.e. travelled less than 2 miles) against the vehicle manufacturers recommended levels.

When checking your tyre pressures, give the rest of the tyre a thorough visual inspection for any signs of damage. Look for any cuts, cracks bulges and remove any embedded objects.

Avoid the £1000 fine for expired licence

There are over two million motorists in the UK who are currently driving with an out of date driving licence. Most drivers believe that their new style licence is for life but the licence actually expires after a set period and has to be renewed, in fact photocard licences must be renewed every ten years. This is a problem we are coming up against every week here at CVSL when we ask for clients photocard driving licences.

We recommend you dig out your licence out and do a quick check this  can even help you avoid a £ 1000 fine. There are a few dates printed on the photocard, but the one you are looking for it the photo expiry date printed on section 4b on the front of the card.  If you find it is out of date then you need to renew it, the process is the same as if you were replacing a lost or stolen licence, you can either apply online, providing you've a had a new digital passport issued in the last five years (it'll use the same photo as on your passport), by post or in person at selected post offices

Check name and address

When checking that date on your licence also check that you have the correct address on it. It is free to change your address and you still risk the £ 1000 fine if it has not been updated. It has been reported that over 2.6 million motorists have not updated their driving licence with their current address and 3% of married women had an out-of-date name on their licence, which can also incur a £ 1,000 fine.

The first batch of ten year photo licences was issued in July 1998 so if you received your licence that year your licence will most certainly be out of date.

The DVLA state that drivers are allowed to continue driving if they have failed to renew before the expiry date but they ‘could’ be charged with ‘failing to surrender their licence’ which is an offence carrying the  £ 1000 fine.  The Association of British Insurers and the Department of Transport said that insurance cover was not affected if drivers failed to update their photocard. It's also worth noting the DVLA advises any driver travelling abroad to carry a photocard licence, rather than the older all-paper version, whilst this isn't obligatory, it may make your journey easier where required.