Philip Hammond: Winter Tyres are no good in the UK. Wrong.

Philip Hammond – Secretary of State for Transport – tells the Commons that winter tyres are not suitable for the UK. Oh, dear.

Throughout all of last year’s snow we lost count of the number of times we were asked if winter tyres were a good idea. You see, winter tyres are not something the Brits know much about. Ask most UK drivers what a winter tyre is and they have visions of something bordering on a James Bond special with spikes to get a grip.

And it seems that even the Con-Dems’ advisors have much the same opinion as the bulk of UK drivers because Philip Hammond – Secretary of State for Transport – told the Commons yesterday that Winter Tyres are not suitable for UK roads. Which was something of a surprise. And completely wrong.

We would understand Philip’s statement if he was talking about chains or studded tyres. They really only work to get you out of trouble in the UK, and only if there are roads with compacted snow on do they make sense to keep on. Because if the roads aren’t covered with compacted snow you wreck the tyres and chains and roads. What Philip Hammond actually said in the Commons on winter tyres was:

We have looked at the issue, and in fact David Quarmby addressed it. The use of winter tyres-snow tyres or even studded tyres-and snow chains is appropriate where people drive for long periods through the winter on compacted snow; it is not appropriate in the situation, as in the UK, where snow is on the ground for relatively short periods. Winter tyres wear out very quickly on normal road surfaces and cause significant damage to those surfaces, so they would not be appropriate in the UK situation.

But he’s wrong. Winter tyres are different. They have more grip and work better in lower temperatures. Last year we were busy telling anyone who would listen that you are better off with a set of winter tyres in this weather than a softroading 4×4. You’ll have much more grip.

We do understand Philip is under a lot of pressure with the weather conspiring against him and the UK grinding to a halt. And he’s a bright man (actually, he’s a very bright man), but he’s not the most practical man in the world. So we should be blaming his advisors for the bad advice, not Philip.

But sadly for Philip, that’s not how the world works.