Snow tyres or chains?

Hi,

Heading to Obergurgl on 20th Dec. We're driving from Innsbruck on way out and back to Salzburg. Do you think we'll need to hire snow chains or will the snow tyres (which are compulsory) be enough?

what type of vehicle? 2 wheel or 4 wheel, if you've got a 4x4 then probably not but for the sake of a few quid you may as well stuff 'em in the boot with the rest of it. Preparation is everything :lol:

Take them just in case very useful for getting out of car parks,
and of cause mountain roads.

If you dont have snow chains in some countries, you can get fined. They will also stop you from using the road in certain conditions if you dont have them fitted. I am not sure what the regs are with regards to hiring a car, as to whether they have to or are able to provide them as part of the package.

:twisted: :evil: jealous

You can hire snow chains but, boy, do the car hire companies know how to charge :twisted:. If memory serves, they were looking for €25 per hire last year. This is such an irritating expense, particularly as it is so unlikely that you will use them (particularly when you have winter tyres). I seem to recall from previous threads that you can buys chains for about this price in low cost supermarkets on the continent but who wants to waste time finding a large supermarket on the way to the mountains - then you have the dilemma about whether to carry them home and risk excess baggage charges :twisted:.

Child seats are even worse - I was pricing carhire for my summer break earlier in the year and one company quoted me €92 for a booster seat for 2 weeks - I can buy one at home for €10 :evil: :evil: :evil:. I find it incredible that they continue to get away with this kind of price gouging (I ended up bring booster seats with me but it was a pain carrying them).

Its hard to win sometimes :mrgreen:.

IF you are going to be on motorways and relatively low roads most of the way, you will probably get away with it. However, some of the twisty roads up to higher resorts can turn into skating rinks very quickly.

Refer to http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/touring_tips/AA_Austria.pdf

The hire car ought to be fitted with winter tyres, since it is mandetory to have them fitted in winter.

There are two levels of risk:
1. Due to conditions, the snow chain sign goes up on the mountain road. In those conditions, the police will stop and fine you. It is an easy offence for them to spot! Then the likely outcome is that the police will not allow you to continue.
2. Like other alpine nations, the Austrians are brilliant at managing snow on roads. Even in low resorts, you may be driving during a snow dump, and driving without chains is not possible. Without chains, you may be put you and your passengers at a pretty big level of danger. Further, you are going to a high resort.

Subject to weather forecast, I would be happy to risk a chain-less drive in the alps in late March, but not in January.

It pays to engage with the car hire operator, and make a few nice jokes. Then it becomes easier to ask about what kind of deal they can make on chain hire. We have managed 10 Euros a couple of times.

We all need chains sometimes, we've two 4WD's and both used chains last winter, once in utterly insane conditions breaking out of Arolla in a three day snow storm and the other time to get off the drive in reverse. On the one hand that's out of a whole season but on the other hand if it's really bad then we often don't really need to go anywhere urgently.

You'll not get fined for not having chains as such, there's no law saying you must have chains but there are roads where they are obligatory according to conditions, the police will be checking on entry, If somehow you got onto a road like that evading the checkpoints and were caught later it's possible the police might have some penalty. You're not going to be randomly stopped on a normal day and asked to prove you've got them though.

All that said, I'd get them personally, like everyone says you might well need them just to get in and out of the resort and you might find yourself staying somewhere just off the main drag where you might need chains. Also, driving on snow and ice is a bit scary at first, you need to learn to relax when the car does let go of grip sometimes and just let it slide until you get traction again, with chains you'll find it all easier. Obergurgl is a fair drive up from the autobahn as well, not excessive but long enough in bad conditions without chains.

Winter tyres are the first real sign of winter, when you put them on it feels pretty close :D