Salzburg to Kaprun - Snowchains??

Wanderer wrote:
While it also mentions the possibility of using chains with Summer tires, I assume that this would only apply outside of the specified winter period. Furthermore, it seems to be the case that it is actually against the law to use chains unless the road is completely covered in snow or ice. (This is to prevent damage to the road surface.)

worth pointing out, that really annoys me when I see it as well :) that and people in UK registered Cherokee Jeeps who don't understand they're supposed to pull over if the vehicle behind's moving quicker than they are to pick an entirely random example )

WE have discussed this on a previous thread, and I recall the conclusions were that during the winter months winter tyres are mandatary in Austria, (probably Switzerland also?), but not in Germany.

The upshot is that if you hire a car at Salzbourg or Innsbruck, the car will be fitted with winter tyres. If you hire at Munich, it is fairly unlikely to be fitted with winter tyres.

Dave Mac wrote:WE have discussed this on a previous thread, and I recall the conclusions were that during the winter months winter tyres are mandatary in Austria, (probably Switzerland also?), but not in Germany.

:-) :-) quite possibly, that's the internet for you. Winter tyres are not mandatory in Switzerland. In Germany and Austria they're not mandatory either but they are recommended. The only European country that makes winter tyres compulsory is Finland I believe.

ise wrote:

Dave Mac wrote:WE have discussed this on a previous thread, and I recall the conclusions were that during the winter months winter tyres are mandatary in Austria, (probably Switzerland also?), but not in Germany.

:-) :-) quite possibly, that's the internet for you. Winter tyres are not mandatory in Switzerland. In Germany and Austria they're not mandatory either but they are recommended. The only European country that makes winter tyres compulsory is Finland I believe.

I think the confusion here relates to hire cars - a lot of the countries mentioned require cars hired between October to April to be fitted with winter tyres. I know Switzerland certainly does.

Dave Mac wrote:WE have discussed this on a previous thread, and I recall the conclusions were that during the winter months winter tyres are mandatary in Austria, (probably Switzerland also?), but not in Germany.

The upshot is that if you hire a car at Salzbourg or Innsbruck, the car will be fitted with winter tyres. If you hire at Munich, it is fairly unlikely to be fitted with winter tyres.

This is absolutely correct. I have just discovered that hiring at Munich Airport, the car does NOT have winter tyres, and if I want to have a car fitted with them, it will cost an extra 12 euros a day - somewhat excessive for something which a few km away is a LEGAL requirement.

It seems a little odd to me why the Germans dont have this requirement when many of their southern areas are experiencing the same conditions as those in Austria and Switzerland.

KevinC wrote:
I think the confusion here relates to hire cars - a lot of the countries mentioned require cars hired between October to April to be fitted with winter tyres. I know Switzerland certainly does.

i think I'm running out of ways to say this :lol: It's not a legal requirement, it's not, it really, really isn't

Tony_H wrote:This is absolutely correct. I have just discovered that hiring at Munich Airport, the car does NOT have winter tyres, and if I want to have a car fitted with them, it will cost an extra 12 euros a day - somewhat excessive for something which a few km away is a LEGAL requirement

Finland? that's a fair few km away to be fair.

Germany and Austria have the exact same rules in this regard, on snow covered roads you're required to be equipped with chains or winter tires, in the case of Germany that's actually a new law from last year.

Ise - I've looked further and you are correct that it's not a legal requirement (as already stated there is a lot of wrong info on the net) but every single thread I've read states that hire cars in Switzerland all come with snow tyres. Point being they are highly recommended/necessary.

More to the point though it may not be a legal requirement to have snow tyres but if you have an accident and have inappropriate tyres on your car good luck trying to get the insurance company to pay up!

KevinC wrote:Ise - I've looked further and you are correct that it's not a legal requirement (as already stated there is a lot of wrong info on the net) but every single thread I've read states that hire cars in Switzerland all come with snow tyres. Point being they are highly recommended/necessary.

More to the point though it may not be a legal requirement to have snow tyres but if you have an accident and have inappropriate tyres on your car good luck trying to get the insurance company to pay up!

that's absolutely correct :) the reason Swiss hire companies put winter tires on is for insurance, if you're not equipped you can be found liable in the case of an accident. If you're driving on UK insurance you're not going to have a problem though, you're not required to have winter tires by law and that's good enough.