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Winter Tyres – Are They Worth the Investment?

Winter tyres, also known as snow tyres, are specially designed to provide better grip and handling in snowy and icy conditions. They have deeper treads and softer rubber compounds that allow them to maintain their flexibility in colder temperatures, improving braking distance and reducing the risk of skidding. While winter tyres may require a bit more investment, they can greatly improve the safety and performance of your vehicle during the winter months, especially if you live in an area with harsh winter conditions. Investing in winter tyres can also potentially save you money in the long run by reducing the risk of accidents and damage to your vehicle. It’s important to note that winter tyres are not designed for year-round use and should be switched out for regular tyres once the winter season is over.

Benefits of using winter tyres:

  • They perform best in low temperatures, especially below 7 degrees Celsius.
  • They reduce the stopping distance by up to 5 metres, compared to summer tyres.
  • Winter tyres offer excellent grip in wet, icy, snowy and dry conditions. The tyre treads fill up with snow, which provides better adhesion to the snow on the road.
  • The extra-deep treads help disperse water and reduce the risk of aquaplaning, improving handling on the road.

Drawbacks of using winter tyres:

  • You need to replace winter tyres with summer tyres once the temperatures rise again. In the UK, where extreme weather is less common, you may only need winter tyres for a short period.
  • Having a set of winter and summer tyres, as well as any spares, can be costly. However, in some countries like Sweden or Germany, it’s a legal requirement to have both.
  • If you live in an area with extreme weather fluctuations, investing in winter tyres is a wise decision.

Winter tyre symbols:

  • M+S: This symbol indicates that the tyre is designed for mud and snow, but it’s not a full winter tyre.
  • Snowflake + Mountains: This symbol is found on full winter tyres and signifies that the tyre provides safety and grip on snow and ice.
I passed my driving test last weekend, I want to say huge thanks to my instructor Lisa baour, she's been amazing mentor throughout the process. I'm from different country and I didn't have any driving experience before, so I had to learn everything from the scratch, she's been calm and polite from the very beginning, that help me lot to boost my confidence and take out my driving nervousness. Thank you so much Lisa and shift for making me a better driver, i higly recommend Lisa and shift, you won't be disappointed..cheers 🍻🍻
100% recommend Shift to anyone looking to learn. Simon is an excellent instructor, so calm and confident, took his time to understand me and how I learn best so that I could become a confident driver. Passed today with only 1 minor fault!
I highly recommend Shift Driving School Gateshead for beginners or anyone with some prior experience. Their website is excellent, and the app is incredibly user friendly, it makes booking lessons, tracking progress, making payments, and setting your availability so simple.

One of the things that impressed me most was how quickly Shift matched me with an instructor. Within a week of purchasing my package, I was driving. Other companies I contacted took over two weeks just to respond and told me I’d be waiting up to five weeks for an instructor. Choosing Shift was definitely the best decision I made.

I had Simon as my instructor, and he was fantastic. He was super flexible with my hectic schedule, gave me honest and constructive feedback, and used the app to track my progress so I could clearly see what I needed to work on and what I was already doing well. This made the lessons streamlined and efficient.

Simon also gave me the confidence to believe I was ready before I even felt it myself and he was right. Thanks to his teaching, I passed my driving test with zero faults (not even a single minor!).

Overall, Shift offers great cars (Mercedes 😉), an easy to use system, and most importantly, excellent instructors. Huge thanks to Simon for making the learning experience such a positive one!
Highly recommend Shift Driving School. They were an absolute pleasure to deal with from start to finish. Special shout out to my instructor Hassan, who taught me from scratch in just under 6 months. I had no previous driving experience at all and he talked through the steps and skills needed clearly, always supportively pushing me to be my best. Delighted to have passed at first attempt! Couldn’t have done it without the team at Swift and Hassan. Thank you!
Passed with Simon today! He’s an outstanding instructor, so much patience and understanding, especially for neurodivergent learners. My confidence developed massively whilst learning with Simon. Also big shout out to the whole team, especially Lewis, for being so reassuring when I first reached out about lessons. I’d recommend these guys to anyone.
I 10000000% recommend this driving school my instructor has been appsalutly amazing he had so much patience and really helped me through all my lessons then he recommend me a nervous course which really helped me as I really struggled with my nerve on my test but I finally done it and passed my test and I wouldn't have been able to do it if it wasn't for lewis so thank u sooooo much :)
Lewis is a great instructor very patient, clear, and encouraging he made learning to drive feel easy and enjoyable highly recommend.
What a great company to not only learn to drive with, but to actually work with too. We would highly recommend Shift without a doubt.
Highly recommend Shift Driving School. They were an absolute pleasure to deal with from start to finish. Special shout out to my instructor Hassan, who taught me from scratch in just under 6 months. I had no previous driving experience at all and he talked through the steps and skills needed clearly, always supportively pushing me. Delighted to have passed at first attempt! Couldn’t have done it without the team at Shift and Hassan. Thank you!
I just passed my driving test. With many thanks to Simon instructor at Shift driving school. I learned a lot and Simon was very patient and guide me well. I am grateful for the excellent teaching and kind lessons I had. Definitely recommend.