European winter tyre legislation explained

ERJ staff report (DS)

Slough, UK -- Continental Tyres in the UK has once again produced a comprehensive guide highlighting the different tyre requirements UK and Irish truck operators can expect to encounter when they run their vehicles in Europe this winter. The guide has been updated for the 2009/2010 winter season and is available free to all as a download from the Continental website (see below).

While each country has different requirements, the Continental guide proposes a number of actions to make sure vehicles are safe on the roads when dealing with wintry conditions.

Firstly Continental recommends that all truck tyres should have a minimum remaining tread depth of at least 4mm across all axle positions on a tractor unit.

Secondly that trucks should be fitted with specially developed winter tyres when travelling through hilly regions of middle Europe that are snow covered and have uncleared roads, on roads covered with significant amounts of ice or snow or on winding and sloping roads that are cold and wet.

And finally to ensure maximum safety and vehicle performance winter tyres should be fitted in order of priority on trucks as follows, to the drive axle, to the steer axle and then to the remaining axles such as lift or trailer axles.

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download guide (from Conti UK)

Continental UK truck tyre home page (from Conti UK)