For context – driving a 30mph on a 40mph limit road due to really icy nature of road. 50m to the roundabout I apply the brake gently to come to halt in a straight line in time for the roundabout. For my brakes & tyres and for that particular road condition that was a nice gentle but not over cautious approach. With my summer tyres on I’d have started braking about 15m sooner to remain in the same level of control

With this level of knowledge, why didn’t you brake 15m earlier on your super winter tyres therefore making life easier for the guy behind, who you knew was on summer tyres, and demonstrate your awareness of the road conditions and everything around you?
This is the earlier point I made about driving to the max.
The Aston will brake alot quicker than a Mondeo, should I brake at the last minute, simply because I can? Or should I show greater awareness towards other drivers?

Sorry, I’m being a bit thick – what does “brake testing me” mean?

What he’s saying is that you intentionally slammed on to teach the guy a lesson not to drive so close to you.

But the driver behind your aston should know that the roundabout’s coming up, or be far enough behind to see it, so should brake in good time of his own accord. I don’t blindly follow the car in front’s brake lights.

However in the case of snow, yes you should bear in mind the person behind, and he should also not be close behind you.

What he’s saying is that you intentionally slammed on to teach the guy a lesson not to drive so close to you.

A quick flash of your hazzards works.

The Aston will brake alot quicker than a Mondeo, should I brake at the last minute, simply because I can? Or should I show greater awareness towards other drivers?

Trololololol!
The car behind you should be far enough back that it can avoid a collision if you suddenly stop. If he/she hits the back of you then they weren’t leaving enough space, so it’s their fault, 100%.

What he’s saying is that you intentionally slammed on to teach the guy a lesson not to drive so close to you.

Then he’d be wrong.

If I hadn’t been there the outcome would have still been the same – if he chose to brake at the point he did (esp the 2nd time) judging by his inability to stop he would have been either on the bank or in the middle of the roundabout.

I really don’t buy that I was “driving to the max” or to be honest even anywhere close. I could have happily (small, light car with massive brakes) halved my stopping distance and still remained straight and in control.

Anyone who uses the car in front to judge when to brake rather than looking at what’s coming up is a bell end in in my opinion.

But….if you look back at my original point, what I was saying was that difference in tyre performance between different cars can be an issue and cited my incident as an example. Like any good driver (ahem!) I learn from incidents and change my ways accordingly. I think it’s fair to say I am now more aware of the lack of ability of some cars and some drivers on winter roads with summer tyres still on and act accordingly (like slowing down earlier than I need to, to closer match what they “should” be doing).

I put some on last year, on all four wheels and noticed a big difference. have them on now and believe it saved some ****ts life when he walked out in front of me and then slipped on the ice, I managed to brake, and control the car even although it was icy underwheel.

People who are quibling over £50 – £80 per tyre, mine were £140 each and I still think it is cheap if it helps me avoid a crash, my normal tyres are £140 – £160 each though so I just see it as extending the life of my other tyres while being safer on the roads during winter.

I keep thinking about putting winter tyres on my vehicle because there is no doubt that the softer compounds and tread designs do improve traction for both moving and stopping.

But, and it’s a big but… I’ve managed to get around safely for 38 years now without them, driving mostly in a hilly rural area. Now, I know we should embrace new technologies and all that but it’s a big decision to spend a few hundred pounds for something that I’ve never actually needed… so far 😕

But, and it’s a big but… I’ve managed to get around safely for 38 years now without them

I can guarantee that of something you think it essential, someone once thought they’d got along just fine without it for years.

When my wife was learning to deal with British roads we bought a £150 Fiesta MkIII that was automatic. She was approaching a traffic light controlled roundabout towards down and had to brake slightly harder than normal as someone changed lanes infront of her. When she returned she told me she thought something was wrong with the car because it skidded under only moderate braking.

I took the car out to the same spot and tried braking (empty road at this time) and the car did indeed skid. However, it behaved exactly like the Fiesta I’d learned to drive in, and that had seemed perfectly fine and normal in many tens of thousands of miles me and my Dad had done in it. But compared to our modern cheap small car (Ibiza) it was awful.

The moral of the story is that just because something has been a certain way for years and seems normal doesn’t mean it’s actually any good!

Wow! So much interest in tyres has pursuaded me to pop my snow chains in the classifieds.

convert – Member

I have little control over how close the car behind drives or when he chooses to start braking. What would you have done differently oh great oracle?

You have control over the space that you both have to slow down in.
If the chap behind can’t stop in time, he’s tailgating. The only thing to do when being tailgated is back off the throttle and increase your (and his) braking zone.