New Study Reveals More Than 80 Percent of All Drivers Use Winter Tires

Drivers often however unfamiliar with correct designation

Hanover, November 7, 2007 – Are you familiar with the symbol with a snowflake in a mountain? If you aren't, then you are just like one in five (22.1 percent) of the 2,005 men and women who were interviewed by TNS Infratest in Germany, Austria and Switzerland at the request of the international automotive supplier Continental. The snowflake symbol stands for winter tires that have passed a special test for ABS brakes on packed snow. More than half of all German drivers (54.6 percent) do not know the proper designation for winter tires – the M&S labeling, which stands for mud and snow. A tire that sports both symbols on its sidewall guarantees an exceptionally high level of safety on snow. It is reassuring that, in the meantime, more than 80 percent of all motorists use winter tires, and one in three (35.7 percent) is aware that winter tires can shorten the braking distance significantly. Another pleasing finding is that nearly all motorists are aware that German law requires them to mount tires suited to the weather conditions.

Tire manufacturers recommend that winter tires be mounted when temperatures drop below seven degrees Celsius, as such tires are designed with cold, wet and snow-clad roads in mind to ensure that power is transmitted when braking or steering, even at low temperatures. However, nearly one in three drivers (28.8 percent) is of the opinion that all-season tires are also sufficient since there is no or only very little snow in winter where he or she lives. A delusion. Professor Manfred Bandmann, President of the German Council on Traffic Safety: "All-season tires are a compromise. They do not satisfy the same requirements as do winter or summer tires. Summer tires do not belong on the road at all in the winter months. On snow, they can be extremely dangerous because of their long braking distance."

In order to enhance the performance of winter tires even further, engineers at the market leader Continental are constantly developing new material compositions, running lab and tire tests and working to optimize treads for various road conditions. Today, a winter tire is a high-tech product. For instance, if an analysis of the interplay between road and tire indicates that a new kind of chemical compound improves the wet grip properties, a manufacturer is then asked to supply precisely this material which was just designed in the test. Dr. Holger Lange, tire developer at Continental: "With the material composition, we have been able to make considerable progress, both in rolling resistance and handling properties on typical wintry, wet roads."

Source: Continental AG

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