Are Winter Tyres Mandatory in The UK?

The short answer is, winter tyres are not mandatory in the UK. The main reason is that most of the UK rarely goes through extreme periods of cold that would warrant the need to make winter tyres compulsory. However, fitting them during the colder months is highly recommended. 

Other European countries, such as Estonia and Finland have made winter tyres mandatory during certain periods of the year, whilst others, such as the Czech  Republic and Portugal accept chains as a substitute where instructed. In the UK snow chains are also permitted however there aren’t any laws in place that dictate you are required to carry them around with you. 

So, you may be asking yourself, if neither winter tyres nor snow chains are required by law in the UK why should you even consider them? 

Why Should I Change To Winter Tyres?

Two words, road safety. Winter tyres are designed to provide superior traction, grip and braking performance during bad weather conditions. There are many differences between summer and winter tyres, however, the most significant one is the deeper tread grooves. They help to more effectively displace water and to gather as much snow inside as possible since nothing grips better than snow itself. 

In our opinion, this leads to one conclusion. Although extreme weather doesn’t characterise the UK, we definitely get plenty of rain and snow to justify the need for winter tyres, especially in certain regions. 

If you do believe you could benefit from changing your summer tyres to winter tyres, there are a couple of things that you need to be aware of.

What Are The Requirements To Fit Winter Tyres?

Winter tyres are legal in the UK which means that the only legal requirement that you need to concern yourself with is ensuring that they have more than 2mm of tread. However, you do need to check if your insurance provider requires prior notification of the change. This is because should you have an accident and it is found that you had winter tyres fitted without informing your insurance provider first, some can render your cover invalid. 

Buy Winter Tyres 

At MQ Mobile Tyres, we supply and fit winter tyres for all makes and models and can even safely store your summer/winter tyres for you during the periods that you won’t be using them. Give us a call on 07739 507722 to book an appointment or send us an enquiry to find out more.