Winter tyres – why you should start thinking about them now

With weather experts predicting one of the worst winters on record this year, car and van drivers have been advised to consider investing in cold weather tyres.

Meteorologist James Madden, of Exacta Weather, correctly predicted the harsh conditions experienced over the last two years and believes the coming winter will break all records.

"The UK is to brace itself for well below average temperatures and widespread heavy snowfall throughout winter 2011/12," he warned. "It will be the fourth bad winter in succession, and the worst of them all. I fully expect records to be broken, with the Highlands of Scotland once again particularly hard hit. It is vital to start preparing now."

Writing in the Sunday Mirror, motoring expert Quentin Willson said vehicle owners should start ordering their winter tyres now to avoid disappointment: "This is going to sound ridiculous. Order your winter tyres now. New laws in Germany mean demand for them in Europe is going to skyrocket and, like last year, suppliers will run out. Already the big tyre companies are telling me they're going to be short of stock very soon."

Winter tyres aren't just designed to cope with slush and ice, however – modern advances in tyre technology means the winter tyre provides higher levels of road safety in all types of cold and poor weather conditions.

The British Tyre Manufacturers' Association recently revealed that a vehicle braking at 60mph on a wet road at a temperature of 5 degrees C stopped five metres shorter (equivalent to more than one vehicle length) when fitted with winter tyres.