With the current icy road conditions across the UK, it is important that van drivers and fleets have the greatest traction on the road to prevent against road accidents and subsequent van insurance claims.
According to the Continental Tyre Group, a van's braking distance when travelling at 30mph in icy conditions increases by up to 31%. This means that a van fitted with standard tyres will travel a further 13 metres on icy roads while a passenger car will only travel a further eight.
Product manager at Continental said; "Every year, we have problems on the road because drivers are poorly equipped to cope. Drivers in most European countries fit cold weather tyres from October to March. This allows them to have greater tyre performance when temperatures drop to below 7 Celsius."
Cold weather tyres improve grip due to the higher levels of silica they contain which make them more supple. They also have different tread patterns and offer a greater tyre contact patch at low temperatures making skidding and loss of traction less likely to occur.
Car manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz are also offering the tyres to all of the models in their current range as well as older models as well.
With their improved grip, they will undoubtedly help prevent skids on the ice and the subsequent van accidents and van insurance claims that follow.