When it comes to driving safety you basically have three components, one is you as the driver, you have the vehicle, and you have the tyres. These are the three ones that you can influence if you want to drive in winter conditions. It is important to realize, which many fail to do, that the tyres actually play a key role in the overall driving safety. So, equipping your car with premium winter tyres might actually be more important than getting a safe car. Of course, the best is if you purchase a safe vehicle, you drive safely and you have really good tyres.
For winter driving you can take your car to an area where you can practice winter driving, so that you get used to how to best maneuver a car on slippery winter surfaces. It also gives you respect for how much the braking distance is prolonged on ice and snow versus asphalt. The safety of the car will only play a role if you finally end up in an accident, your driving skills and the tyres will prevent you from you ending up in an accident. Part of your driving is also adjusting the speed to fit with the conditions that you are driving in.
When it comes to the proper tyre selection for winter driving, it is obvious that you can’t use summer tyres and that you actually need proper winter tyres. Winter tyres are tyres that are approved for winter use. They tend to come either as studded or non-studded. The choice will depend on where you live and what tyre options are available. The studded tyres have metal studs and have the best grip on ice, they are though not approved everywhere, and you also have date restrictions on when they can be used. You have more flexibility with non-studded tyres, that can be used everywhere, and they are nowadays basically as good both on snow and ice as the studded tyres are. In Central Europe you also have the option to select all-season tyres that are winter approved. They are a hybrid between summer and winter tyres and can be used all-year round, which make them very convenient.
Whichever tyre option that you go for, make sure that you match the tyres to the vehicle that you have. Passenger cars need tyres that are suitable for that size of car, you then have special tyres for larger and heavier vehicles. Even electric vehicles and hybrids need special tyres as they are heavier vehicles and are have higher torque that tends to require more wear resistant tyres. The tyre selection is important throughout the year. Make sure that you spend time on the tyre selection and use the EU tyre label when you select summer and all-season tyres and for winter tyres, use the motor magazines to find the best tyre options.
For more information regarding tyres that will ensure optimal performance on winter roads, https://www.nokiantyres.com/