Scottish council to fit Michelin snow tyres to fleet

Scottish Borders Council has been preparing itself for winter by fitting Michelin’s XDW Ice Grip tyres across its fleet of gritters.

Initial trial sets were used during the 2018 Beast from the East snow flurries, and following positive results with significant increases in grip compared to the regular tyres being used, the council has decided to fit the range across its entire 32-stonr fleet. The council manages more than 3,000km of roads with each gritter covering as much as 80km per trip.

The new Three Peak Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF) rated tyres will be added when required as the wear on the current sets increases.

John Martin, fleet manager at Scottish Borders Council, says: “Our drivers said the increased grip these tyres offered made them feel a lot safer in the most challenging of conditions. We want to operate safe vehicles that are responsive in the worst possible weather and we know these full-on winter tyres give our drivers the reassurance they need to do their jobs in the coldest conditions. The tyres should also reassure the public driving our roads during winter that we are providing a safe service.”

Chris Smith, Michelin’s B2B sales director, said: “Scottish Borders Council told us they wanted their fleet to be as resilient to extreme weather events as possible, so we arranged to supply them with our very best snow and ice tyres. Despite these being specialist tyres, they can still be regrooved and retreaded through the Michelin Remix programme – meaning the Council can extract the maximum mileage performance from each fitment, for a low total cost of ownership.”