Big J

The gym has got to be the way forward. Hopefully, you might find that it quickly has an effect.

Christ Stephen. Hadn't realised that you had it so bad. I assumed the increasing move towards plant operation was simply because you liked the toys! Who doesn't though? Hope you get it sorted. You're in the right place for a healthy lifestyle but I'd definitely suggest trying the squats and stretches as you mentioned.

My physio was saying it takes about three months of consciously making yourself do something before your body starts to do it automatically. My weak point is/was my glutes, so I have to basically arse flex whenever I lift anything! Really interesting to read all of your different experiences. The back (and the body in general) is such a fragile thing, and you completely take it for granted until something breaks.

I just thought that I would share my personal experiences with back pain. I used to do a lot of weightlifting in my younger days. I gained 54kg over 4 years (aged 19 to 23, 77kg to 131kg) doing powerlifting and strongman lifting but injured my back and right leg and stopped. I then lost 30 odd kilos and settled at 100kg body weight. That was 9 years ago. Over that time my lower back and right leg pain has steadily and consistently increased. I've tried all the usual treatment routes including physiotherapy, strong pain killers and surgery (in the form of facet joint denervation). Nothing helped and over the past nine years I have to an extent become more and more disabled. I don't use that word lightly, or indeed in the traditional sense as I'm still able to function reasonably. However, I couldn't run, cycle, stand up for long periods of time, drive any distance without using cruise control (pedal operation caused pain), play with my kids in the energetic fashion that I wanted to or even sleep on my left side (due to it compressing the right side of my back). I'd say that I was in some degree of pain 95% of the time. So 11 weeks ago I thought stuff it, I've tried everything, I'll go back to the gym. The effect was immediate. Focusing primarily on lower body strength (lots and lots of leg pressing, which I wasn't expecting to be able to do pain free) within a week I was having pain free days. For the first 3-4 weeks I'd still have blocks of pain (multiple days of consistent pain) but this was almost always cured by a gym visit. 11 weeks later, I'm 90% pain free and I've got a quality of life that I never thought possible three months ago. I've gained weight, I feel stronger, I can play like a 5 year old with my daughter and I can now actually lie on my left side in bed. Sounds like a daft thing to fixate on, but not having one complete sleeping position available to you is awful. Even 30 seconds on my left side used to cause my immediate and lasting pain. The issues with my back were never properly diagnosed and I still have no idea exactly what went wrong. I'm 6ft 8" and I'm basically too tall for everything, including my back it would seem. I always thought that a physical job was enough for fitness and rehab but it simply wasn't. Now, a total of 3 hours in the gym each week is enough to keep the other 165 hours relatively pain free and I can't tell you how much better I feel for it. So, if you've got constant back pain (as I'm sure that many of you have), please consider as an option the idea of going to the gym and training with weights. Take advice on what you should and shouldn't try (don't jump straight under a bar for back squats - I'm still working up towards them) and see if it can help you. We're all guilty of assuming that our manual jobs are enough for strength and fitness, but I honestly don't think that they are. The funny thing is that the gym membership is cheaper than the physiotherapy I used to have to pay for.

The Swedes do love a bit of legislation! I don't think that having all season tyres is a bad idea for trailers. When you consider that most tyres on trailers are replaced due to rubber fatigue rather than tread wear, a softer compound wouldn't go amiss. Another thought. Having all season tyres on your car means you can legally travel into the parts of Europe that require suitable tyres in winter. On summer tyres you are breaking the law.

I agree with the idea of tax relief. I think my original idea of getting the government to legislate was unworkable. You say that millions of people get around OK on summer tyres through winter, but I really feel that our attitudes towards tyres are similar to how they were towards seatbelts (historically). You've no need for a seatbelt until you get into an unfortunate situation and then when you do, they could save your life. You've no need for all season tyres until you completely fail to stop on an icy stretch of road, or plough straight on when attempting to turn on a dusting of snow. We've just had all seasons fitted to the car. I shall report back on performance. Stubby - I would say if it's marked mud and snow it will be a winter tyre. Mud tyres tend to have quite a soft compound I believe. It is however an off road tyre so winter performance on the road will be poorer than a road orientated winter tyre.

Why do they need to be mutually exclusive? I agree that driving training is inadequate in this country, but the fact remains that 99% of tyres used in the UK are for a season that we don't really get. Almost all of Europe has hotter summers than us. The fact remains that for most of the UK, on balance, you are safer on all season (or all season summer bias) tyres over the course of the year. No amount of driver training will make up for having tyres that have virtually no grip in ice and snow. I repeat, almost no grip. You're in a 1.5 tonne toboggan.

I'm sorry to hear that you weren't successful with that. What you were campaigning for would be a small price for child safety.

Mine were towards the end of the life, in that the tread was on the low side (for all terrains - still at least 5mm on it). I think that the rubber compound used for BF Goodrich ATs is really rather hard. I got just over 75k miles out of them, which is by far the most I've had out of any tires. I did like them, but I think that the snow and wet road performance is down to the tread pattern, rather than the rubber compound. I do still like them, but wouldn't recommend them for ice or snow (personally).

Completely agreed. I had a brown trouser moment a few years back in the old Navara on BF Goodrich A/Ts where is just went straight on (rather than turning left as was intended) on light snow at low speed. No damage thankfully, but they are as poor as summer tyres in the snow

I disagree. The percentage disadvantage of summer bias all season tyres in high summer is very low (3% or so on braking). They don't perform very much worse than winter tyres in winter conditions. I'd take a minute reduction in summer braking performance if it meant I had massively increased performance on ice, and I was generally safer through winter. Summer tyres are fundamentally unsafe in winter, in the same way that winter tyres are unsafe in summer.

Paul. Through winter, from November until March you are safest (on balance) on winter tyres for just about the entire UK, possibly excluding the south coast. Everywhere else, the average temperature will be 7c or lower. For us, we're mild for Scotland and as already mentioned, the temperature was well below 7 (6.8c day/1c night in November and 4.2c and 0c night for December. That's on our weather station, which is positioned 2.5m above the ground). Much of northern England and even the Midlands is colder than us over winter. We are after all only about 1.5 miles from the sea. Get all season tyres or winter tyres and buy them according to where you are in the UK. If in north Scotland or rural northern England, buy winter tyres and have separate summer tyres. If you are in the midlands, get all season. If you are south of the midlands, get all season with a summer bias. Except for those people using separate winter and summer tyres (as many people do in those areas anyway), there is no extra costs and on balance, you will be considerably safer over the course of the year.

Here (just outside Edinburgh, but very close to the sea) our average temperature in November was 3.9c and this month it was 2.1c.

Get all season tyres!

I'm getting tyred of your puns Mr Eggs!

Yeah yeah!

Very good video explaining different tyre types and winter performance.

Fair enough on the speed rating. The £59 tyres I ordered last week for the car have a W speed rating (168mph) so I can't imagine that that would be an issue. Regarding enforcement, it could simply be done on standard VOSA vehicle checks and if you are involved in an accident and you haven't the correct tyres on, you're automatically liable, regardless of fault.

I googled it, and there aren't many companies take issue with the fitment of winter tyres: https://www.abi.org.uk/globalassets/sitecore/files/documents/publications/public/migrated/motor/abi-guide-to-winter-tyres-the-motor-insurance-commitment.pdf

There are a great number of idiots on the road who do not drive to the conditions. At least on correct tyres they'd have a better chance of avoiding a crash. I have no issue with laws stipulating appropriate tyres for winter. To suggest that you can circumvent correct equipment with technical skill is missing the point. Most people are not technical drivers and even the best driver will have rings run round them by an average driver if the former is on summer tyres, the latter on winter tyres and the roads are snowy or icy. Woody Paul - good thinking. Perhaps by offering a reduction in insurance premiums for people who use correct tyres over winter will be enough to encourage widespread adoption.

But we'd all be safer on all season tyres for the majority of the year. I'll email some tyre manufacturers and see what they recommend.....

You're not safe on summer tyres though, irrespective of how sensibly you drive. Your braking distances are massive by comparison and you can't easily change direction. I just can't understand why there is resistance to a no extra cost idea that improves your safety (and the safety of others) in winter.

My wife went out with my baby daughter this morning to the doctors. During the time she was out, about 4cm of snow fell. Upon returning home, she was unable to ascend the hill to our house (gentle 10% gradient for the last 40m) and it took me 10 minutes to get the car back into the drive. I know how to drive on snow, and the summer tyres that were on the car were the reason I struggled. The van (on all seasons) glided straight up. The German laws regarding winter tyres are entirely sensible. In the UK, we spend a lot more time hovering around freezing whereas on the continent the winters tend to be colder. As such, we suffer more with black ice. If we all ran around on appropriate tyres, we'd not be at the mercy of the council gritters, lives would be saved and the economy would benefit. I appreciate that on the south coast there is a much lessened need for them, but then as a proposal, why can tyre manufacturers not offer a percentage rating on their tyres, winter/summer (like they do with all terrain tyres, offroad/onroad). If you are in the north of Scotland equip your vehicle with 70/30 winter summer tyres. If you are in the south of England 20/80 winter summer. It's surely not that difficult. Buy your tyres according to your climate and stay safe!

This is what it says on the Halfords website: "All-season, or all-weather tyres as they are sometimes known, have been developed for specific European regions with moderate climates characterised by wet, light winters, making them ideal for use in the UK. All-season tyres are designed to give drivers a confident, safe driving experience all year round without the need to change tyres twice a year. There is always a trade-off in performance between winter tyres and summer tyres in the different seasons with regard to tyre handling, braking & traction in dry, wet and snow conditions. This means the all weather tyres are unlikely to be as good as the best specialist tyre in the respective seasons but can be expected to work better on wintry roads than a summer tyre, and better on a summer road than a winter tyre. The main benefit is that you will avoid the hassle and cost of swapping tyres twice a year. In areas where the winters are harsh and snow and ice is a regular occurrence (or you will be travelling to parts of Europe where this is the case) a proper winter tyre is necessary. All-season tyres are easy to drive thanks to stable cornering and strong traction in both wet and dry conditions. On wet roads, the specially designed blocks ensure smooth water evacuation, reducing the risk of hydroplaning. Drivers should not worry if winter does strike, as their high-density siping (grooves) are effective at helping the tread bite the surface of the road to give grip in freezing conditions for confident handling and braking on cold, frozen and snowy roads. All-season tyres take motorists safely into cold and more challenging winter conditions. Some manufacturers have also tuned the tread pattern for low noise and optimum road contact in all surface conditions."

I'd say that if you are in an area which sees a lot of cold weather, ice and snow, get a set of summer tyres and a set of winter tyres. Swap when appropriate and away you go. Everywhere else, just buy all season and whilst you might not get quite the same traction in snow compared to dedicated winter tyres, the difference compared to summer tyres has to be experienced to be believed. I did a delivery of 2 tonnes of logs on an extremely icy Saturday morning a couple of weeks ago. Van (2.5t, with all season tyres) and trailer (2.6t, normal tyres). I was able to safely descend some very icy roads with virtually no loss of traction. I was also able to climb some pretty modest slopes too, and I'm front wheel drive. No extra cost, no disadvantage for the rest of the year, much better safety in winter. It's a no brainer!