From December 1, all cars on Swedish roads must be shod with winter tires as long as winter road conditions prevail.
On the same day, a new law also applies to studless winter tires, which means that they must be equipped with a special symbol with an Alpine peak and a snowflake.
If the tires lack this symbol, they are no longer approved as winter tires.
Winter tires may become illegal
The marking with the alpine peak and the snowflake has been on tires since 2019, but it may be missing on tire models that went on sale before this year.
The marking, called 3PMSF, means that the tires are designed for winter driving.
Those who have studless winter tires that do not have the marking must buy new winter tires to be able to drive legally this winter.
As of December 1st, studless winter tires must have this symbol – Photo: Pontus Lundahl/TTTherefore, don’t ignore the new rules
If you don’t drive very much, and thus still have plenty of tread on your winter tires, it may seem unnecessary to follow the new rules and buy new winter tires.
However, this can quickly become a costly mistake.
When you drive on non-approved winter tires there is a risk that you will not receive full compensation from your insurance company in the event of an accident, reports We Car Owners.
DON’T MISS:
New advice for car owners: You should do it every week
Caught on speed camera – fined for speeding
Risks reduced compensation
The reason why there is a risk of not receiving full compensation is that the insurance companies require that the car owner have “statutory equipment on their vehicle” on their vehicle.
– If you were to drive with tires that are not legal and suffer an injury, for example a traffic accident, we will make an assessment to find out if there is a connection between the accident and the fact that the tires were not legal. If there is a connection, the insurance compensation is reduced, says Stefan Bralaengine expert at Trygg-Hansa, to We Bilägare.
At Folksam, instead, the excess is raised by SEK 3,000 in addition to the basic excess in the event of an accident where the tires do not meet the legal requirements. If says that it “will not reimburse the customer in full” if the car is shod with studless winter tires without the 3PMSF symbol.
DON’T MISS:
Our podcast about cars – Under the Hood
Expensive miss on used electric cars – SEK 50,000 a year
Therefore, 8 out of 10 women avoid rest areas