Abstract
Winter presents an extra risk for road traffic. Accidents increase in winter, particularly small accidents at junctions and rear-end accidents are prevalent in urban areas, whereas disastrous frontal collisions increase on single carriageways in rural areas. In-depth studies reveal that road conditions, car characteristics and tyre properties play a key role in the loss of car control. In occupant-fatal accidents, the driver nearly always loses control before the accident on slippery road surfaces. Inappropriate speed, small car size and high-powered engines increase the probability of an accident. In half of head-on accidents on slippery road, tyre properties such as tyres unfit for road condition, worn-out tyres and studs, underinflated tyres and mixed-set tyres were contributory factors.