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The starting point is to tell you that “conventional snowchains” (RUD, KWB), which wrap chain around the whole tyre, are not suitable for increasing numbers of vehicles, usually because they’d be too close to struts or brake pipes, or because there’s electronic sensing equipment which can’t cope with finding metal where there’s normally only rubber.  You must therefore visit a snow chains/ snowchains database if you want to buy conventional snowchains and choose first your car, then your tyre size, and in many cases also your engine size.  Some manufacturers don’t take this prudent view, so you’ll almost certainly be able to buy a set of chains “off the shelf” which will fit around your wheels. Our advice is to check your car handbook very carefully, because if there is a “No fit” for conventional snowchains there could be real danger and expense in fitting the chains and driving the car.

All the “other snowchain systems” (AutoSock, Farad SNOW, Maggi TRAK and Spikes-Spider) can be used on every vehicle, subject to finding a set of the appropriate size, even if the use of conventional snow chains is forbidden.

The Farad, Spikes-Spider and TRAK systems require you to have wheel nut adapters of the correct size for your car; you’ll find all the information you need on the snow chains/ snowchains database on roofbox.co.uk.

All the snow chains/snowchains are are sold in pairs, and need to be fitted to the driving wheels.  Some people also fit them to the non driving wheels, which certainly improves all round stability, but is definitely not necessary.  4 x 4 drivers should fit snowchains to the front wheels unless we tell you which wheels to use – please check the snow chains database for fitting notes.

As a rule of thumb, traction control and anti-skid systems should be turned off when using tyre traction devices, except for AutoSock and Spikes-Spider systems.  If you can’t easily turn off these systems, then it’s probably OK.  Check your handbook!

View all the available options, together with prices and special offers, on the snow chains database.  This contains well over 100,000 links, and they work very hard to keep it as up to date as they can.  Please though (1) check your handbook and (2) fit the snowchains we supply ASAP after receiving them, just to check that they fit, and also to learn how to fit them.

About the author:
The Roof Box company is the UK’s leading mail order supplier of car roof boxes, roof bars, bike carriers, snow chains and car rack products.

For a wheelchair user, deciding on the best method of travelling is a decision strewn with difficulties and making the wrong choice can be a costly mistake.

The following points are general observations that should be considered before making a decision about whether to opt for a converted, or an adapted vehicle.

With converted wheelchair accessible vehicles the structure and layout has been fundamentally and permanently altered to accept a passenger in a wheelchair. Whilst an adapted vehicle has had adaptations added which can subsequently be removed, for example upon resale of the vehicle.

Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles

Pros:
• If you have a complex seating system, you can remain in the same seat
• If you are not able to use any other means of transfer, or your partner is not able to assist you in using an alternative transfer system, then a WAV may be suitable
• If different wheelchair users use the same vehicle, then an adaptation may not be suitable for each user

Cons:
• You are ordinarily sat directly over the rear axle, so you feel every bump in the road
• Your seating height is much higher than a car seat, so you tend to sway more, which can lead to travel sickness for some passengers
• You cannot easily communicate with the driver or other passengers when in the rear of a vehicle which can be noisy, of particular importance if the passenger is likely to require monitoring
• You are ‘on display’ as a disabled person in your wheelchair
• The vehicle will always be a converted wheelchair accessible vehicle, so when it’s time to sell, you can only sell it as a WAV (adaptations can be removed and the vehicle becomes ‘standard’)
• You require up to 2 metres behind the vehicle to fold down the ramps to then gain access to the WAV. This distance can be reduced, by having a lowering floor WAV, but the additional cost can be up to £5000, if it is an option at all
• Securing the wheelchair once in place can be onerous on the carer, who may well have to be very agile and dextrous. This can be addressed to some degree by installing electric restraints, but these come at additional cost
• The majority of WAV conversions are done to ‘van based’ cars, so the level of comfort and options can be restricted, relative to a standard vehicle, as well as the performance of the vehicle against ‘non van derivatives’, not to mention noisy.
• The conversion can dramatically reduce the luggage space in most vehicles

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Motorbike security comes in various forms depending on usage, requirement of location and type of bike. The main devices are disc locks and chains, padlocks and chains and ground anchors.

Motorcycle theft has been rising year on year although it must be remembered that the number of motorbikes on the road has also grown. 80% of motorbikes are stolen from the home. According to the Police, around 50% of motorbikes stolen were not locked. In the UK, mopeds and scooters are the most stolen forms of motorcycles.

Established in 1992 by Northumbria and Essex Police with the help and backing of the Home Office, Sold Secure is an independent body funded by UK insurers that tries to set a bar to eliminate low-level products from the market. Manufacturers and suppliers can apply to have their products approved by Sold Secure. They assign three levels: bronze, silver and gold.

Sold Secure: Bronze: These products offer resistance or attack from the basic tools (aimed at preventing opportunist crime). Sold Secure: Silver: These products offer theft resistance against enhanced tool list (aimed at preventing more determined attacks). To award Gold they test the products on the bikes to recreate a real-life theft situation. Disc-locks undergo some of the hardest tests to pass on a bike: wedge test with hammer chisel and screwdriver. Locks without double-locking pins do not pass. The Gold testing also involves lock picking, drilling, slide-hammering, sawing, wedging test and a torque test. Testers require 6-8 samples, and they study technical drawings before the tests to determine weak points. They re-test annually. It isn’t just for the assurance that the lock has been thoroughly tested but having a lock approved by Sold Secure can even reduce your insurance premium.

Leading manufacturers of motorcycle security devices are Xena, Squire and Oxford. Squire Locks are well respected in the motorcycle sector. Henry Squire and Sons Limited have been manufacturing locks and theft prevention devices in England since 1780. XENA Security began in the early 1990s when a group of UK engineers and motorcycle enthusiasts set out to design a better motorcycle lock and Oxford Products was founded in 1973 by a group of enthusiasts at University City of Oxford. Still today, Oxford Products is staffed by active enthusiasts who test and develop the product range.