How much does Onspot increase traction?
With more than 150,000 Onspots installed in vehicles worldwide, numerous drivers and fleet managers testify and praise the effectiveness of the automatic tire chains. Without a doubt, Onspot improves both road safety and drivers’ safety while helping them to stay on schedule by instantly increasing traction. But, why are there no figures on what to expect?
What you see is what you get
Well, it’s not possible to calculate Onspot effectiveness and put an exact figure on it. There are simply too many and too varying influencing factors, like temperature, road surface microstructure, wheel speed, incline etc., that may be completely different just around next corner. Instead, the quantitative benefits of automatic tire chains are empirical, i.e. they result from observations and measuring in real life field tests and studies.
Expect increased traction
From 1983 to 1984, Hokkaido Technical College (Sapporo, Japan) conducted numerous tests on the chains. One series of tests involved testing hauling force, acceleration and braking. In the tests three vehicle types were compared:
- Trucks with only winter tires.
- Trucks with winter tires and conventional tire chains mounted
- Trucks with winter tires and Onspot.
Hauling force was measured while attempting to pull a dead weight on level, ice-covered ground. Next, acceleration was measured in seconds taken to travel 40 meters up a 5-degree slope. Finally, braking was measured in meters while the vehicle underwent locked wheel braking from 40 kph.
The results are summarized as follows:
| Type of tire | Hauling force (kgf) | Acceleration (s) | Braking (m) |
| Snow | 1226.7 | 9.25 | 74 |
| Snow with conventional chains | 2056.7 | 8.66 | 68 |
| Snow with Onspot | 2073.3 | 8.13 | 68 |
Even if indicated in several studies, we don’t claim that Onspot generally improves traction by 30%, but it’s safe to say that Onspot substantially improves traction.
Expect improved safety
In a study carried out by the Swedish University of Linköping, Onspot’s ability to prevent accidents was studied. The purpose was to find out to what extent accidents resulting from loss of traction and vehicle control due to slick roads, was reduced by Onspot. In the study, several trucks equipped with Onspot were compared to a similar group without Onspot. The observed result was that out of 24 accidents in the entire group, 16 involved trucks without Onspot. This specific study concluded that using Onspot reduced the frequency of accidents by approximately one half for the outfitted trucks during the observed period (November to April).
This does not mean that we promise a 50% risk reduction when using Onspot. But, observations in this specific study – and common sense – indicate that Onspot improves safety – probably quite substantially.
Improvement guaranteed
Reliable figures are possible to identify from empirical studies of Onspot performance. But, putting impressive figures on improvement – of safety or traction – may actually result in riskier driving behavior! Some individuals tend to rely on such figures and recalculate their own safety margins, i.e. they take more risks because they rely on a safety device.
Irrespective of percentage, with Onspot you get a very convenient device for instantly increasing traction. And, with proper traction, both road safety and driver’s safety are increased. That’s a promise.
