Winter tires: everything you need to know about the obligation to wear them from November 1 – BFMTV

From November 1, it will be compulsory to put on winter tires or to have chains available to travel in certain departments. The law was passed last year but the prefectural decrees are slow to arrive to specify the municipalities and the axes concerned.

From November 1, 2021, it will be mandatory to have winter tires on your vehicle, or removable equipment such as chains or socks, to drive in certain French departments. A consequence of the “Mountain II” law adopted last year.

Who is concerned?

Concretely, 48 departments were to be concerned each year, from November 1 to March 31.

Important point: it is not only the inhabitants of these departments who must equip themselves but also, for example, tourists passing through. One of the objectives of the law is precisely to limit the dangerous behavior of certain motorists, which can cause accidents or cause serious traffic jams if they are poorly equipped when they reach ski resorts.

The departmental prefects must establish a list of the municipalities concerned by this obligation, after consulting the massif committee, specified the decree implementing the law.

The prefecture of Meurthe-et-Moselle, for example, announced this week that no municipality will ultimately be affected. “This decision is justified by the characteristics of the territory of Meurthe-et-Moselle, and in particular by the low altitude and the small number of municipalities located in the Vosges mountains”, underlines a statement.

Same story in the Yonne: no municipality should be subject to this obligation, because of “the relative weakness of snowfall” and “the absence of winter tourist activity”, underlines the local newspaper The Republican Yonne.

Conversely, in Haute-Loire, the prefecture has just confirmed that all the municipalities of the department are concerned, note The mountain.

In all cases, the axes concerned will be identified by signs at the start and end of the obligation to fit snow tires or to have removable equipment.

What compatible equipment?

Several options are available to you: you can keep your summer tires but you must then have “removable non-slip devices”, such as chains or socks.

Another possibility is to switch to winter tires (sometimes also called “snow tires”), with the 3PMSF and / or M + S marking (tires bearing only this last designation are tolerated until November 1, 2024).

To avoid regular changes, it may also be beneficial to switch to so-called “four-season” tires, even if, faced with heavy snow or ice, the use of winter tires is strongly recommended.

“If as part of their work, motorists have to go to these departments where it is mandatory, you have to go on four winter tires. On the other hand, for customers who go to the resort two to three times a month, go on chains, either textile or metal, “recommends Stéphane Léon, director of a Point S center interviewed by BFMTV.

What penalties for offenders?

Motorists who do not have the mandatory equipment on the axes concerned risk a fine of 135 euros and immobilization of the vehicle.