City / Location / Postcode

Winter tire obligation

In the event of black ice, slippery snow, slush, ice or frost, you may only drive your car if it is fitted with winter tires.

Description

As a driver and/or vehicle owner, you must ensure that your car is equipped for the weather. You may drive on

black ice,
slippery snow,
slush,
slippery ice or
slippery frost

only drive if you have winter tires on all wheels.

You may only use tires whose tread and driving characteristics are also suitable for snow, i.e:

have the Alpine symbol (pictogram of mountain with snowflake) or
Slush and snow tires ("M+S") that were manufactured before 2018 (note: these are only considered winter tires until 30.09.2024)

If your car does not have the required tires, you as the driver - in the event of a police check - must expect a fine of 60 euros and a point in Flensburg. If this violation of the StVO results in an obstruction, the fine increases to 80 euros. In the case of endangerment, the fine is even 100 euros. The highest fine is 120 euros in the event of an accident. In any case, the penalty is also a point in Flensburg.

If you drive one of the following vehicles and do not have winter tires, you are exempt from the regulation, but then have to fulfill further obligations for road safety:

Single-track motor vehicles (such as motorcycles or scooters),
Agricultural and forestry vehicles,
forklift trucks,
motorized patient elevators,
emergency vehicles of organizations such as the fire department and
Special vehicles for which winter tires (tire classes C1, C2 or C3) with the Alpine symbol are not available due to their design.

These vehicles may be driven without winter tires in winter weather conditions. However, before starting any journey, it must be checked whether it is necessary to make the journey because the destination cannot be reached by other means of transport, and during the journey a minimum distance (half the speedometer reading in meters) must be maintained from vehicles in front and no faster than 50 km/h may be driven.

Special regulations apply if you are transporting hazardous goods with vehicles that require labeling.