Made in October 2026. Each country's rule was read from its own law or transport authority on 24–25 Oct 2026; every source is linked in the full table:
https://copilot.travel/maps/winter-tyres

A few things that surprised me:

• Estonia requires winter tyres 1 Dec–1 Mar whatever the weather;
  Finland 1 Nov–31 Mar only when conditions require.

• Germany only accepts tyres with the snowflake (3PMSF) mark in wintry conditions; old M+S-only tyres no longer count.

• Caravans need winter tyres too in Finland, Sweden, Estonia and Lithuania; in Germany, Austria and France the rule only covers the towing car.

Never even thought about there been laws forcing different tires per season. Do people just randomly have 4 extra tires in their homes to change when the time comes?

Maybe I should be glad to be in a country with no snow.

These days there exist four-season tyres, which to my knowledge meet the requirements of countries that require winter tyres in winter or wintery conditions.

Pretty much yes! In the Nordics and the Alps most families own two sets, usually each on its own wheels (then you can change them by ourself, slo many times theres somekind of storage or you can use storaging and changing as a service), so the swap takes half an hour at home or a few minutes at a tyre shop. Many don't keep them at home at all: tyre shops run "tyre hotels" that store your off-season set and swap it for you twice a year.

The other route is all-season tyres with the snowflake-on-a-mountain mark (3PMSF): in most countries with a winter rule, Germany included, they count as winter tyres, so one set does the whole year. Where winters are mild that's the usual choice.

If you're in a country where there's is snow or just cold temperatures, you don't "randomly" have 4 extra tires. You literally need them for at least a few months. Typically you'd swap over in late October, then back in March/April depending on how it's going. Swapping them yourself is trivial enough, but it's also incredibly cheap to get them swapped at a shop.

Note that at least last I checked, the proper transition temperature isn't "freezing" or "there is snow", but about 7-8°C. That's when winter tires will have better grip, and summer tires grip steeply diminishes below this. Once there is actual snow, your just actually up shit creek with no paddle on summer tires. But if you have to emergency brake at like 3°C for example, it makes a significant difference what kind you got on your vehicle.

I don't have to change my tires but I do. They are stored in my shed, but people who don't have space at home may pay for them to be stored at the mechanic's facilities.

On days with fresh snow I often see several cars in ditches on my drive to work. I live in a rural area and have also had to dodge out-of-control cars and trucks so I want to make sure I can depend on the grip.

Eta: I once skidded right through an intersection on a red light because I was in a rental on summer tires. Never again lol!

yeah but the tradeoff is you'll use more fuel.

Yes. Either that or a workshops holds them for you (🤑).

The major trade-off is the time and distance it takes to brake and that the tyres get stressed more heavily in comparison to seasonal ones.

summer tires harden in cold temperatures, making them less grippy even without ice or snow. and winter tires get too soft in warmer air, meaning they stretch more, which can lead to overheating and blowout. so you do need both. there are some tires that are allowed year-round, but they're less efficient.

also it's usually not just extra tires, but complete wheel sets. that way you can change them yourself.

yeah they're just less good overall

Yes even in places where there's no legal requirement because it is better to do that and because insurer can fuck you up if you don't have correct tyres

Some nuance about Norway: Winter tires are allowed year round, but the studded kind is only for specific months: From Nov 1st to 2nd day of Easter holiday (because loads of people cross a mountain range or two during Easter). For the three northernmost regions, it's from Oct 16th to April 30th.

But one rule trumps all of the above: Tires should be suitable for the weather/road. So you can use studded tires whenever you have a reasonable reason to do so. If you're on summer tires during winter co ditions you'll probably get a pretty hefty fine.

I put mine on last Friday, by the way.

Pretty useful info. What a strange and alien concept, tyre hotels lol. But it makes more sense like that.

Do people just randomly have 4 extra tires in their homes to change when the time comes?

Yes. Either that or the spare set of tires is stored where they get their tires changed (and checked) twice a year.

PS: It's a set of wheels including tires (often the cheaper steal rims as that's not the stuff you drive fast with anyway...) for those having them at home of course. I would not actually change tires myself...

PPS: And as it's completely normal, it's not unusual to get a used car with a second set of wheels.

While they do meet the requirements they are objectively worse than dedicated winter tyres in the winter and vice versa for summer. As a Norwegian I'd never trust all season tyres in the winter, at least not here in Norway. Non-studded winter tyres work good enough in the cities, but studded tyres are the best regardless of where you drive in the winter.

There are also all season tires (marked M+S I think) that work through all the year but not particularly well in any season. The problem with changing tires is winter tires life span which is typically 5 years. Thus if you don't drive much, you end up disposing not much used ones every 5 years resulting in ecological and financial problems.

Yeah, totally get that, in ever smaller housing and apartments in cities price of storing winter tires might not make sense anymore. Ofcourse it also makes other funny things like people remembering their cars bolt pattern when someone has useless round of wheels at their storage and such.

It's basically the same in Sweden.

Uhh why does ukraine and belarus have a different not included grey than russia? Hungary, poland, etc are one shade, ukraine, belarus, etc another and then russia a third.

The shades are close. Three on purpose: the lighter grey (Poland, Hungary, the Netherlands) means "no winter-tyre law" the darker one (Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova) means "not verified / not covered" we only map what we can read in a countries own law or traffic authority, Russia is just the base map, outside what is covered

Thanks, that matches what we read from Statens vegvesen: studs from 1 November to the first Sunday after Easter Monday 16 October to 30 April in Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, and longer when conditions call for it.

That's why Norway is shown as "wintry conditions at any time" the grip rule is the one that decides. And Oslo's stud fee applies even when you only drive through ofcourse.

As a Dutchman, I just don't want to get fined when driving into Germany.
Preferably without breaking the bank.

Ahhh okay thats logical, maybe you should add that to the legend too so its less confusing