AutoSock SmartGrip size M, one pair, no. AS-SGM

AutoSock created and developed the "car snow sock" concept, and is the registered holder of all relevant patents. Their main European Patent is EP 1165329 which is operational in all European countries. They have similar patent protection in North America and Japan.

After the last few UK and Irish winters there are unprecedented numbers of copies in these markets; legal activity for patent infringement is either in progress or may be taken against many of these distributors and resellers, some of whom are household names and must have been very badly advised.

Some of the copies and counterfeits are relatively very cheap - as products can be if there are no research and development costs, and if materials and manufacture are of poor quality.

We hope that our potential fleet customers in particular will wish to be confident that the products they use have proper product liability insurance, as AutoSock has.

Some of the distributors of copy products seem to be taking leave of their senses and are making increasingly extravagant claims. These might include

• statements about German and Austrian testing agency approvals (TÜV and ÖNORM). Some do indeed have these approvals; some claim to have them but do not.
• statements about the patents they have registered. This is a "smoke and mirrors" trick, designed to deceive. We usually use a wrist watch as an analogy for this sort of activity: AutoSock has patented the bit of the watch that tells the time, the relevant bit; others have taken out irrelevant patents on e.g. the strap fixings, but they still attach the "patented" word to the whole product.
• Warnings to "Beware of copies!" (Some credit should be given to resellers who have at least attempted to write their own copy instead of lifting it from official AutoSock sites!)
• Warnings to "Beware of Chinese copies," apparently forgetting that their products are themselves made in China. There is nothing wrong with being "Made in China" - what is foolish is to presume that the factories who make and sell this stuff at knockdown prices are authorised to do so.

Recent EU court decisions include:

• A preliminary injunction against Siepa and its Austrian and German distributors by the Higher District Court of Düsseldorf, Germany. The penalty for a violation of the judgment is up to €250,000 per incident. Siepa brands include Goodyear and Fix&Go.
• An injunction against the Trendy distributor in Norway by the Court of Telemark. Trendy branded products have been withdrawn.
• A preliminary injunction against one embodiment of WeissSock by the Higher District Court of Düsseldorf. The penalty for a violation of the judgment is up to €250,000 per incident.
• A preliminary injunction against one embodiment of MultiGrip by the Higher District Court of Düsseldorf. The penalty for a violation of the judgment is up to €250,000 per incident.

• First of all, please read the instructions, especially the comment “Avoid spinning the wheels, extreme braking and acceleration, since this could damage the product.”
• The usual rules of driving in snow apply, i.e. pull off slowly, stay in as high a gear as possible, “anticipate” even more than normal, avoid hard braking.
• The speed limit of 30mph / 50kph will seem quite fast enough on snow. It is a maximum speed, not a recommended speed!

How long will they last?

• Fundamentally, the more you drive on clear roads / gritted tarmac, the faster they will wear out and the sooner you will need to buy another set.
• They are a “Get you out of trouble” solution and are not intended for prolonged use. You will probably use them to get down to the gritted road, then you take them off ASAP it is safe to do so.
• From the instructions: “The wear limit is reached as soon as 50% of the white road-contact fabric is worn out and the underlying black safety material has become visible.”
• You will find that small holes start to appear as they become worn. This is no big deal and will not affect their performance until it becomes obvious that they are looking ragged and well worn – then they need replacing. If they are ripped, this is due to snagging on e.g. a loose mudguard, a loose screw on a wheel arch liner, some other third party influence. (If you hear them catching on something, stop and sort it out!)
• There are bands of Kevlar running across the AutoSocks; these provide overall strength, help to prevent the socks from splitting after misuse, and help prevent holes from spreading.
• Overall, use your commonsense about how long to use them, and of course and where possible you should avoid potholes, raised manholes etc.

Fitting them

• Fitting is very easy on most vehicles, more difficult on a few. The most difficult vehicles to fit are – no surprise – rear wheel drive cars with limited clearance. If you can’t get your forearms into the space between the wheel and the wheel arch, fitting will be difficult. But blame the car, not the AutoSock! If they are a very tight fit, too tight, please let us know because there is obviously a size issue that we need to learn about.

Specific driving tips

Some suggestions for situations where AutoSock are not making the difference expected:

• On a rear wheel drive car, uphill slope, sheet ice: You need some weight in the boot – it makes all the difference. Don’t just spin the wheels and trash the AutoSock.
• On a hill in really slushy snow. You may drive forward then slip. The AutoSock are sticking to the snow but there isn’t enough strength in the snow to hold the weight of the vehicle. Roll back down a few feet, compressing the snow and driving out the water. Then try again, moving further up the hill than before. Three steps up, two back.