lol ginger Kate! if you can hear me from your high horse....:. 
snow chains would be used only for hard, compacted snow for low speeds and short distances, like that hill at 2am u mention, not for ripping up the motorway. and if you remember, or were stuck in the recent snow 'blizzards' of recent winters, you will know that most people were stuck in half an inch of snow, while several miles ahead a jack knifed lorry or accident caused miles of gridlock. at least with chains and a 4x4 can hit the verge or fields or central reservation even!
and if It's that bad, I sure as hell won't b cleaning windows anyway! I'll be in that jack knifed lorry blocking the road ahead of you! 
so you do feel as if im attacking you and feel the need to justify your post. ok. so when there is an accident infront of you on a duel carriageway or matorway, you will put snow chains on and use a field or central reservation to get past and as you drive by the police at the scene you will wave and smile!! i know you will!! 
all im trying to say is that when its 2 in the morning or even 6 in the morning and not many drivers around and youre on a slight hill and cant move, remember this thread.
now if you still feel attacked. tough titty . youre right, the AA and RAC are all wrong. summer tyres or winter tyres, it makes no difference. youre right. have a great winter.
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dont feel attacked, just dont like people taking what I say out of context! which is why will justify anything i say if i think someone has got wrong end of stick, or misreading or misinterpreting what i said my opnion is, not because its a personal attack!!
i certainly didnt say that any organisation is wrong, perhaps
you should re read
my comments, lol. from my experience, people with "mud pluggers" or similar tyres wear out extremely quickly on dry tarmac, particularly at higher motorway speeds. Maybe they officially arent supposed to wear out, i dont know. All i know from my experience/friends experience they tend to. And when traffic is gridlocked, i was light heartedly joking about hitting the central reservation, but the biggest problem is other drivers, with or without the correct equipment. I have been in a loaded artic going down roads where car drivers and 4x4 drivers have just panicked and locked up and hit someone/something, that happens on a motorway and we are all stopping.
for your clafirication, and in case i came accross wrong in previous comments, Im not saying they are not a good idea, or dont help, for sure they do. But for my regular journey, and the fact that i have a chunky 4x4 that i will use if i have to go out when its that bad, i dont think its worth putting them onto my van.
Now, just waiting for your hormones to find something in here to pick up on......oh, and im not attacking you here either, just making an observation
ps yes when im stuck at the bottom of a one in 15 slope spinning hopelessly, i will think of you. It is amazing how little a slope it takes when the wet white stuff is around to stop you moving
