Euro trailers are more accident prone on snowy roads, says Swedish haulage association

Despite tractors and trailers having to be equipped with winter tyres on all wheels in Sweden, almost sixty lorries got stuck on the E4 road on Tuesday due to snow. Reacting to the news, haulage industry organisation Sveriges Åkeriföretag said winter tyres were not be-all-and-end-all when it comes to HGVs on slippery roads; instead, it's vehicle combination is key.

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Commenting on the snow disruption earlier this week, Haulage industry organisation Sveriges Åkeriföretag stated that the type of vehicle combination plays a more important role in dealing with slippery, wintery roads than winter tyres.

“We know that winter tyres will not make much difference,” said Carina Ahlfeldt at Sveriges Åkeriföretag in an interview with SVT.

She explained that euro trailers are prone to “folding like folding knives” when the road is slippery.

The statement comes after Tuesday’s snowstorm, which made almost 60 lorries stand still on the E4 road.

Sweden tightened winter regulations for HGVs two years ago. Since then, winter tyres have had to be fitted on all wheels for all lorries and on the trailer between December 1st and March 31st. Previously, the requirements called for winter tyres only on the drive axles.

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