Germany to make winter tyres compulsory

ERJ staff report (DS)

Bonn - Germany's federal Transport Minister, Peter Ramsauer, has said Winter tyres should be mandatory. The Transport Ministry is to re-write the country's Highway Code to mandate winter tyres, and simultaneously to specify a single, pan-European sidewall marking for Winter tyres, which carries the weight of law.

Current legislation requires the tyres to be "suitable for the conditions", but Ramsauer has said he wants the law tightened to mean specific cold-weather tyres, which bear a properly specified and defined symbol on the sidewall.

Internet tyre dealer Delticom said the proposal is likely to add pressure to winter tyre demand in the next few months, making a tight situation even worse.

This is an external link and should open in a new window. If the window does not appear, please check your pop-up blocking software. ERJ is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Peter Ramsauer zur Winterreifenpflicht

Germany's Transport Ministry (Germany)

Peter Ramsauer for winter tyres mandatory

Above statement auto-translated into English (from German)

Neue Winterreifenpflicht könnte zu zusätzlichen Engpässen führen

Press release (from Delticom)

New winter tyres are mandatory could lead to additional constraints

Above Press release auto-translated into English (from German)