Do police cars, ambulances & fire engines have winter tyres?

[g3org3y]

Given that it was widely known there was to be heavy snow and at times like these demand of the emergency services increases exponentially, has there been the foresight to equip the emergency vehicles with appropriate winter (or even studded snow) tyres?

Just curious...

[cptsideways]

No, though some have recently invested in some snowsocks (Dorset way)


They often rely on 4x4 owners & even the army to get them about, ridiculous I know yes. Man from Dunlop Norway on the BBC yesterday could'nt believe they were'nt equipped.

[HellDiver]

Didn't we have this thread the last time it snowed? I mean last week?

[Stew2000]

From yesterdays turn of events I'd say they don't... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-120252...

[WeirdNeville]

Nope, generally they don't, and IMO it's a travesty.

Swap wheels over en masse, store the "summer" wheels, and swap them back. These vehicles do 30k miles a year, and go through tyres like fun. They should have the best tyres available for the conditions.

In the current "Spend nothing" climate, we'll have to make do with police who can't get anywhere though.

[Jim the Sunderer]

Well, you just know if they did use them they'd be paying £650 a corner or something daft from one of their "recommended suppliers".

[jon-]

My money would be them all having them next year...

[Distant]

I saw a fire officers car with them on in Oxfordshire today.

Snow socks i mean

Edited by Distant on Saturday 18th December 16:58

[j44esd]

cptsideways said:

No, though some have recently invested in some snowsocks (Dorset way)

Hmm, certainly some ambulances and other emergency vehicles do - I couldn't tell you which forces/areas, but I know that many do fit them.

[Sour Kraut]

WeirdNeville said:

In the current "Spend nothing" climate, we'll have to make do with police who can't get anywhere though.

Shall I start a 'do criminals use winter tyres?' thread?

[mph1977]

taking YAS an an example 08/09 and 09/10 winters cemented a choice for RRV in the Skoda Scout - with whatever tyres they come with as OE as well as the continued use of the LR discovery 3 as supervisor and towing vehicles ... they've also invested in 4*4 sprinter(s) in North Yorks, i've also seen a d90 marked up - though i suspect it's mainly used by fleet or estates when it;s not adverse conditions

this discounts the 4*4s made available to YAS and the PCTs by the three SJA counties i nthe YAS region - there's at least 3 LR130 Ambulances (one in NYorks and 2 in humberside if humberside play), a Nissan pathfinder extraction ambulance plus a number of 4*4 response / sitting case vehicles in all three SJA counties ... ( which have been used extensively over the last couple of winters either providing additional A+E resources, additional PTS and staff transport resources or supporting primary care in accessing their patients and admission avoidance ) i'm not sure what 4*4 vehicle resources the BRC in Yorkshire has but they along with SJA provide additional A+E / middle tier road ambulances on a regualr basis

YAS has working relationship with the mountain rescue teams as well.

WYBiB has a variety of 4*4s around inc marked D90s and Chevy captiva / Vx Antara as well as the X5s and RR that RPU have and have also been using WMDC 4*4s

Edited by mph1977 on Saturday 18th December 17:02

Edited by mph1977 on Saturday 18th December 17:41

[cptsideways]

j44esd said:

cptsideways said:

No, though some have recently invested in some snowsocks (Dorset way)

Hmm, certainly some ambulances and other emergency vehicles do - I couldn't tell you which forces/areas, but I know that many do fit them.

I seem to remember seeing one on snowies up Scotland way a few years back, but certainly our local ones don't. One was being recovered the other day just down the road, it looked like a minor mishap tbh, that could so easily have been avoided.

[j44esd]

cptsideways said:

j44esd said:

cptsideways said:

No, though some have recently invested in some snowsocks (Dorset way)

Hmm, certainly some ambulances and other emergency vehicles do - I couldn't tell you which forces/areas, but I know that many do fit them.

I seem to remember seeing one on snowies up Scotland way a few years back, but certainly our local ones don't. One was being recovered the other day just down the road, it looked like a minor mishap tbh, that could so easily have been avoided.

Yes, many of the northern forces do - but I know that this year many Ambulance Forces/Police all over the UK have been fitting winter tyres after last years fiasco! Without wishing to add further fuel to the winter tyre debate on here I hope more fit them in future - they do make a huge difference!

[LMC]

Scottish ambulances don't. And even after the last load of snow, still don't. I was stuck in Edinburgh and we have an agreement with the council; 20 minutes I waited and along came my own personal gritter lorry to get me out Even the lorry got stuck 4 times on the hill I was stuck on, but there were 2 guys; one driving and gritting and the other with a shovel, shovelling tons of the stuff about my wheels. Well done lads !!

[dcb]

WeirdNeville said:

Nope, generally they don't, and IMO it's a travesty.

+1

They make themselves look like a right bunch of amateurs
if they don't fit winter tyres in winter.

While it's a debatable issue for the private motorist,
for the emergency services I'd have thought it would be
a no-brainer.

Insurance companies can help in this area by offering
discounts for appropriate tyre use / penalising poor
tyre choice as simply negligence and so refusing to pay out.

[mph1977]

dcb said:

WeirdNeville said:

Nope, generally they don't, and IMO it's a travesty.

+1

They make themselves look like a right bunch of amateurs
if they don't fit winter tyres in winter.

yet in the next breath you'll be criticising the fact the 999 services are paying 1500 gbp / vehicle extra for a set of rims and winter tyres and paying overtime to the fitters / tyre companies to come out and change the entire fleets wheels over at the first hint of snow ...

[poing]

mph1977 said:

taking YAS an an example 08/09 and 09/10 winters cemented a choice for RRV in the Skoda Scout - with whatever tyres they come with as OE as well as the continued use of the LR discovery 3 as supervisor and towing vehicles ... they've also invested in 4*4 sprinter(s) in North Yorks, i've also seen a d90 marked up - though i suspect it's mainly used by fleet or estates when it;s not adverse conditions

this discounts the 4*4s made available to YAS and the PCTs by the three SJA counties i nthe YAS region - there's at least 3 LR130 Ambulances (one in NYorks and 2 in humberside if humberside play), a Nissan pathfinder extraction ambulance plus a number of 4*4 response / sitting case vehicles in all three SJA counties ... ( which have been used extensively over the last couple of winters either providing additional A+E resources, additional PTS and staff transport resources or supporting primary care in accessing their patients and admission avoidance ) i'm not sure what 4*4 vehicle resources the BRC in Yorkshire has but they along with SJA provide additional A+E / middle tier road ambulances on a regualr basis

YAS has working relationship with the mountain rescue teams as well.

WYBiB has a variety of 4*4s around inc marked D90s and Chevy captiva / Vx Antara as well as the X5s and RR that rpud have and have also been using WMDC 4*4s

Edited by mph1977 on Saturday 18th December 17:02

I've got no clue what you just said.

Don't what YAS, BRC, PTS, WYBiB, WMDC, RPUD, PCT or SJA mean. Looks like a BMW options brochure.

Back on topic:

I've seen local police cars on winters and the gritters/ploughs are on mud and snow tyres. I'm in north Scotland though so I guess it's more expected.

[Elroy Blue]

Jim the Sunderer said:

Well, you just know if they did use them they'd be paying £650 a corner or something daft from one of their "recommended suppliers".

Well..£30 each for our BMW 530s, but your line sounds better.

No winter tyres. I couldn't even get snow socks approved. The civvie transport manager stopped it because it impinged on his little empire. The health and safety types decided they haven't been type approved or subject of 'testing', so no go.

We just utilise our dwindling fleet of 4x4s and failing that, we borrow a load of stuff from Land Rover.

(Having said all that, I can count on one hand the number of times driving a 5 series has caused any real problems)

[j44esd]

Elroy Blue said:

Jim the Sunderer said:

Well, you just know if they did use them they'd be paying £650 a corner or something daft from one of their "recommended suppliers".

Well..£30 each for our BMW 530s, but your line sounds better.

I was going to mention the crazy price quoted vs. reality, but thought i'd let someone else!

Edited by j44esd on Saturday 18th December 17:34

[Jonboy_t]

It's sickening, but they don't do anything. My bro-in-law is quite senior in the Fire service and has a company car for 'quick response' call outs (it's a Prius, so not THAT quick response!) - he couldn't get off his drive way when we had the snow a couple of weeks ago and turned out that a chip pan fire had gutted a house that was within a two minute (normal condition) drive. If he had got snow socks or winter tyres, he would have had much more chance to get to it and do something.

Luckily, there was noone injured in the fire, but some poor sod has lost his house and all wordly possesions.