Are you ready for winter driving in Germany?

Germany’s new winter tire law came about after a German court ruled in the case of a motorist who had protested a fine levied for not having snow tires on his car. In July 2010 the court determined that the current law was indeed too vague and that the term geeignete Bereifung (“appropriate set of tires”) failed to actually specify the use of winter tires. The man did not have to pay the fine.

The Law Regarding Snow Tires
In November 2010, responding to the court’s decision, the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament, passed a new federal law that is much more specific about winter tires. It also doubles the fines for drivers caught without snow tires or who have an accident in winter conditions without snow tires on their vehicle.

Von O bis O
Most German motorists have long known the old rule of thumb for putting snow tires on the car: “von O bis O.” The term “from O to O” is short for “from October to Easter” (von Oktober bis Ostern). It is a recommendation that one should make the change from regular tires to snow tires in October, and leave them on until Easter.

The new German law does not set any time limits, but it does clearly state that under icy conditions (bei Glatteis, Schneeglätte, Schneematsch, Eis- und Reifglätte) you must not drive without snow tires on your vehicle. So, since it’s difficult to predict the weather, for all practical purposes, the old “von O bis O” rule still applies. (In Austria, winter tires are mandatory from November 1 to April 15.)

The new law also spells out what a “winter tire” is. Specifically, it is an M+S-Reifen, a mud-and-snow tire that has an official M+S (Matsch und Schnee) marking on it. (M+S tires do not have to be “winter” tires. All-year or all-weather M+S tires also qualify.) The German automobile club ADAC recommends going a step further and getting tires with the “three-peak-mountain” seal, an indication of snow tires that meet the highest standards.

ADAC also makes another recommendation that goes beyond the minimum requirements of the law. While the Straßenverkehrsordnung (StVO) requires a minimum snow tire tread depth (Profiltiefe) of 1.6 mm, ADAC ups that to 4.0 mm.

Fines
If the police catch you driving in winter conditions without M+S tires, you’ll have to pay a fine (Bußgeld) of 40 euros – plus a point against you in Flensburg.* If you are involved in an accident or you block traffic in icy conditions without M+S tires, the fine goes up to 80 euros and a point against you in Flensburg.

*Flensburg
The Verkehrszentralregister des Kraftfahrt-Bundesamtes in Flensburg is a central register of all traffic violations in Germany. Various driving offenses are assigned a number of points and recorded in a databank in the northern German town of Flensburg. A driver with up to three points need not worry, but after accumulating four or more points, various sanctions take effect, ranging from remedial driving school to loss of your license to drive.

Rental Cars
The snow tire law applies to all drivers, even if they do not own the vehicle! That means if you are renting a car in Germany in the winter, make sure it has M+S tires. The law also applies to motorbikes, trucks and buses. For more about renting a car in Germany see this page.

https://www.german-way.com/travel-and-tour...r-driving/

Its interesting M+S marking is all that's legally required. Don't miss the 4mm tread minimum bit either...

Remember folks it your life/family we are talking about if you heading for the mountainous regions proper compound snow/winter tyres are safety must and always have chains in the boot too imho.

so it looks like the M+S requirement encompasses all OE tyres fitted onto range rovers..

[thank you for that Gary, very interesting.. ] ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
.

^ Yes Stan your not going to be nicked in Germany but if going up a mountain in minus temps or snow then Snow Tyres or chains a must.

Thank you Gaz and since this year NEW M+S tyres are not allowed any more  All my spelling errorz are belong to me!

2023 FFRR L460
2021 AM new Vantage

That need further explanation my friend..

Where is that regulation and once on car all tyres are "Used"......

If winter tyres get down to 4mm by Easter, then it may be best to keep them on for another few months until they get near 1.6mm , then get new ones for the next winter ?? G reg 2.5VM Vogue Portofino red 1991- 1999
V reg 2.5td P38 Rioja red 1999- 2006
53 reg td6 Vogue Oslo blue 2006- 2015
11 reg 4.4 TdV8 Vogue SE. Baltic blue 2015- date.
https://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic56162...tty+affair

Gazellio @ Prestige Cars wrote:

That need further explanation my friend..

Where is that regulation and once on car all tyres are "Used"......

Baltic Blue wrote:

If winter tyres get down to 4mm by Easter, then it may be best to keep them on for another few months until they get near 1.6mm , then get new ones for the next winter ??

Quote:

Vehicles less than 3.5 t GVW must be equipped with tires marked with the Alpine-Symbol (3PMSF) from January 1, 2018 on all axle positions. Vehicles with greater than 3.5 t GVW must be fitted with tires marked with the Alpine-Symbol (3PMSF) at the wheel positions of the permanently driven axles. This holds for tires produced as of January 1, 2018. M+S tires produced before January 1, 2018 are accepted as suitable winter equipment until September 30, 2024. From July 1, 2020 at the latest, tires marked with the Alpine-Symbol are also mandatory for front steer axles.

in the german section ,what does it mean by 'in certain situations'..? ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
.

in certain situations - you have to run with appropriate tyres - the law is very vague on this :/ All my spelling errorz are belong to me!

2023 FFRR L460
2021 AM new Vantage

so according to your post/info David, anyone buying or fitting tyres with the M+S logo , say in 2015 for instance would be ok with those tyres until 2024...


also having been in stuttgart in september ,i was amazed how many cars there were and of those how many porches and the like....i wouldnt have thought there would be a winter tyre application for those types of vehicles.. ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
.

Stan, yes.

Also, you'd be surprised how many sports cars can get winter tyres. Even my VX220 has them - it's in the type approval.

I have REAL winter tyres on the FFRR and summer tyres on the XKRS - wife takes a Taxi if there is to much snow in wintertime - that is still cheaper than a set of Vulcan rims with winter tyres (4.400 pounds the set)  All my spelling errorz are belong to me!

2023 FFRR L460
2021 AM new Vantage

Tyre dealers are well set up for this in Germany. You'd drive in to the dealer, they'd swap the wheels to your winter set, store the summer tyres and you'd drive out. 30 minutes. Then repeat in March, when they'd bring your summer tyres out of storage. I'd quite like that service here. Keep my winter and offroad combos in a local tyre emporium and swap whenever needed.

At the moment I use Tyres on the Drive but two sets of Rangie wheels take up a large amount of my garage floor space.