elbekko Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 (edited) I know there are some Swedes here, so I thought I'd ask here In a few weeks (probably leaving the 17th or so), I plan on going to visit a friend in southern Sweden again. Last time I did it was in summer, so no problems there. I'll be in the Malmo/Lund area, and maybe go up as far as Helsingborg, so nothing too silly. As far as I hear it's raining there atm, so I don't think I'll have to worry about meters of snow So I'm wondering about the legal requirements, both in Sweden and on the way there (Germany, Denmark). Do I have to have winter tyres, do I need to bring chains, ...? AFAIK Germany = You want winter tyres when in an accident, but apart from that you're not legally required to have it, especially in a 4x4. Is this (still) correct? As for Denmark, I'm not sure if I'll be taking the bridge or the ferry this time, the bridge was nice but does add quite a bit to the travel time. I'll be taking my P38, it's currently on 265/75R16 BF ATs, sadly a size that doesn't have the crystal-in-a-mountain logo Oh, and how's the LPG availability? I could live with driving on petrol while I'm there, but still, it would be nice to do it on LPG Thanks! Edit: LPG stations I've answered myself, this is a brilliant site, even has POIs: http://www.mylpg.eu/stations/sweden Looks like there's one in Malmo, perfect. Edited January 2, 2013 by elbekko Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Ref the tyres, you just need to remember this phrase: "But this is legal in our country, officer!" Hasn't failed me yet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuko Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Yes you need legal snow tires, not all AT or Snow & Mud tires are legal, they must have the snowflake symbol on them. Yupp rain at the moment and no snow in the forecast for the next week. Todd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted January 3, 2013 Author Share Posted January 3, 2013 Hmm, that's annoying. Is this something they'll actually check when you get stopped, or just something they can use against you when you get in an accident, like in Germany? I don't really feel like buying a set of winter tyres for a two week trip where I most likely won't even need them... Fridge, that's definitely worth a try Just got linked this, looks like M+S is sufficient? Or is this outdated? http://www.europcar.com/EBE/module/render/Driving-abroad-in-Winter-conditions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars L Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Outdated I believe... Proper winter tyres should have the snowflake/mountain symbol on the side, M+S is not OK since lots of US made tyres have this marking even if they are normal summer tyres. Read: http://www.transportstyrelsen.se/en/road/Vehicles/winter-tyres/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars L Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Outdated I believe... Proper winter tyres should have the snowflake/mountain symbol on the side, M+S is not OK since lots of US made tyres have this marking even if they are normal summer tyres. Read: http://www.transportstyrelsen.se/en/road/Vehicles/winter-tyres/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escape Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Outdated I believe... Proper winter tyres should have the snowflake/mountain symbol on the side, M+S is not OK since lots of US made tyres have this marking even if they are normal summer tyres.Read: http://www.transportstyrelsen.se/en/road/Vehicles/winter-tyres/ The link you provided seems to state otherwise: "Winter tyres are produced specifically for winter driving and are labelled M+S (M.S, M-S, M&S or Mud and Snow)." So Ben should be legal with his BFG ATs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escape Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 double post... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuko Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Escape, You can NOT avoid the fact that the tires must have the snowflake symbol to be legal, no matter the tire classification. Todd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escape Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Todd, I agree that you can only identify a real wintertire by the snowflake symbol. However, we are not discussing wintertires here, only the legal requirements. And as we all know, those are often far removed from any logic whatsoever (we have plenty of examples here in bhellgium...). All the documents I (and Ben) can find regarding what type of tires are required in winter in Sweden seem to use the M+S as a reference. Filip Escape,You can NOT avoid the fact that the tires must have the snowflake symbol to be legal, no matter the tire classification.Todd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oddballrovers Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Hello Mr Slow Here in Denmark it is only recommended to use winter tires not a requirement but if you do it must be on 4 wheels and regardless to tyre there must be at least 1,6mm tread Re Lpg. there is hardly any stations if any at all. Have a nice trip Kind regards Ole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 Outdated I believe... Proper winter tyres should have the snowflake/mountain symbol on the side, M+S is not OK since lots of US made tyres have this marking even if they are normal summer tyres.Read: http://www.transportstyrelsen.se/en/road/Vehicles/winter-tyres/ Everything on that link says M+S is sufficient, which I do have. It's just that this size/speed rating isn't fully winter tyre rated for some reason, as stated here: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=BFGoodrich&tireModel=All-Terrain+T%2FA+KO&sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=675QR6ATAKO10&tab=Sizes The S rated ones would've been fine, but I bought these second hand, so didn't have much choice in the matter... Hello Mr SlowHere in Denmark it is only recommended to use winter tires not a requirement but if you do it must be on 4 wheels and regardless to tyre there must be at least 1,6mm tread Re Lpg. there is hardly any stations if any at all. Have a nice trip Kind regards Ole. Hi Ole, Thanks for the advice. Looks like Denmark won't be a problem then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars L Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Everything on that link says M+S is sufficient, which I do have. No, it doesn't... It also says that "the tyres should be produced especially for winter driving"... And ATs are not. Here's a list over tyres that meet the requirements: http://www.stro.se/winter/vinter121001_new.pdf BFG ATs made before 2004 are approved, later ones not... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 Ah... that sucks. But... I should still be fine if there aren't any wintery conditions, correct? During the period from 1 December to 31 March there are special requirements in Sweden on which type of tyre a certain vehicle is to have when there are wintry conditions on the road. These requirements apply to both light and heavy vehicles' date=' as well as for vehicles registered in Sweden and abroad. [/quote'] Right now it's not even freezing in Lund, so unless it starts heavily snowing or icing over there shouldn't be a problem. I probably won't be using the car much when I'm there anyway, just to get there and back and to do some moving Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars L Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Yep, as long as it's not "wintery conditions" you'll be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
q-rover Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 Have Sweden not just introduced new legal requirements for the use of tyres, chains etc for winter driving? Norway is following as they are getting fed up with EU drivers that havn't got a clue, no chains, worn out summer tyres etc, jacknifing and blocking the roads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuko Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 Have Sweden not just introduced new legal requirements for the use of tyres, chains etc for winter driving? Norway is following as they are getting fed up with EU drivers that havn't got a clue, no chains, worn out summer tyres etc, jacknifing and blocking the roads. The new legislation is more aimed at lorries (this time around) where we must have on the steering axle and drive axle "winter" tires with a minimum thread depth of 5mm. The stringent legislation for cars hasn't changed much but I can add that I do know that the police are doing more vehicle (EU vehicle) checks when they enter the country, checking tires, paperwork, etc. Add to the list of "getting fed up" is causing accidents that result in the lost of life due to poorly equipped EU vehicles for Nordic road conditions. Todd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henk Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 Regarding Germany: Op 26 november 2010 werd in Duitsland een nationale wet gestemd die definitief de regeling rond winterbanden in een wetgevende regeling giet. De vorige wet was te vaag en zeer vatbaar voor interpretatie. Deze wet is dus ook van toepassing voor toeristen die Duitsland bezoeken, al was het maar tot Aken. De boete varieert van 40 tot 80 euro voor wie niet met gepaste banden rijdt. Toch belangrijk om weten is dat 'winterbanden' een ruime omschrijving kreeg en M+S ook onder deze regeling vallen. In short English: yes, even foreigners need wintertyres but M+S types are also considered as wintertyre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seriebil.dk Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Info: -5 degree in Denmark now and snow is coming from east over sweden for the next 14 days, says the forecast. Better get those winter tires on.... Yes they do check vehicles at the border for time to time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted January 12, 2013 Author Share Posted January 12, 2013 Well, that's bad news It won't be easy (nor cheap) finding winter tyres in Belgium for a P38... but I'll have a look around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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