Re: stand by for chaos!

As a Canadian I am amazed that the slightest smattering of snow brings chaos in a Country that is supposedly technically advanced.

I think the problem lies with the tyres used here. In Canada everyone either drives year round with 'all season' tyres or fit snow tyres for winter. The last vehicle I had in Canada was a Honda Civic with all season tyres which never had a problem in all snow conditions I encountered in Nova Scotia. When I came to the UK I thought I would fit all season tyres to my vehicle. The tyre suppliers I visited had never heard of them and Canadian all season tyres do not meet EEC regulations, go figure! When virtually all vehicles drive on what are really summer tyres, or at least that is how it seems, problems in the snow are inevitable.

The problem is the weather. We don't get snow very often so we don't have loads of equipment to deal with it. So when it does fall it isn't cleared from most of the roads. This combined with the average driver having little or no experience on snow (after all we don't have any) causes the problems.

We don't use all season tyres because they wear quickly and aren't very good in the wet at speeds around 70+mph.

The only real solution is to change the climate which the Americans and Canadians are helping us with. ;-)

Not sure what your point is. Cars and other vehicles should be able to safely function in the light snow falls (3"-6") that occur in most of the UK. If the snow is cleared they aren't operating in snow conditions. The lack of competency of UK drivers is a well know and is agreed.

Don't know where you get the wear rates and other stuff you quote of all season tyres. High wear rates and problems in the wet and at speed certainly has not been my experience.

As far as your swipe at Canada re greenhouse gases, Canada with respect to emissions causes far less damage to the environment than most if not all European countries and in particular the UK.

My land rover has what you need - on road legal M+S (Mud and snow) tyres.

I may have to get a new one...ther rest are 50,000 miles old and are beginning to wear a little. :-)

They aren't good in te wet, but they do not necessarily wear badly.

Not my 50,000 mile M&S tryes anyway.

My tyres are very good in standing wayer and well able to handle te 85mph top speed of te land river, but they do not grip as well as a softer compound either in te dry, or in damp road conditions.

However, I don't habitually put the land rover up against Ferarris and expect it to win either.

I repeat, google on M&S tyres for your car. They are available. In germany they are a lot more common than here for example.