Avoiding the need for winter tires.

[TC3]

Hi we want to drive down to Italy mid October for family celebration. There is no requirement for fitting winter tyres until 15th Nov in Italy but some areas in France do require it done I believe from 1st November.

Anyone familiar with a route from Calais into Italy avoiding the need for winter tires as we plan to head back 2nd week of November.

Any help appreciated

 

[DBK]

Depends where in Italy you are heading. I guess if you head for Nice via Lyon then along thé coast road to Genoa you should be fine if you stick to motorways. Traffic can be heavy on the coast road though.

It's the high passes which demand you carry snow chains.

 

[MichaelT]

Just buy snow chains

 

[TC3]

We are heading to the south. I was not aware I could just get snow chains to use with summer tires. Heading out of Italy along the coast might just work.

 

[Brains]

Depends on where in the UK you are starting from and where in Italy you are going to.

The fastest/shortest way to Italy from most of the UK is the Harwich/Hoek of Holland ferry
(Even for us, and we are only 70 miles from Dover!)

The (toll free) route is then Holland, Germany, and then crossing the Alps in Austria.

You only need winter tyres in Austria after 1st November IF there is snow on the roads or you are over 3.5t.
The snow in Austria does not usually fall until Christmas.

Also the Austrians are incredibly efficient at plowing/gritting the roads.

The longer route via the Channel ports and France may make sense if you live in the south west, and are heading to north west of Italy (Remember to include the extra toll costs)

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[Barti Ddu]

This is the official French government website containing a zoomable map that shows the areas caught by the winter tyre requirements.

As you can see, they are hard to avoid going from France into Italy.

As an alternative to winter tyres you can carry snow chains or socks should you need them.

Nouveaux équipements hivernaux

Entre le 1er novembre et le 31 mars, il est obligatoire d'équiper son véhicule en pneus hiver ou de détenir des chaînes ou chaussettes à neige, dans certaines communes des massifs montagneux (Alpes, Corse, Massif central, massif jurassien, Pyrénées, massif vosgien). 34 départements sont soumis à...

www.securite-routiere.gouv.fr

 

[DandJ]

As has been said....chains or snowsocks....especially if you really aren't at all likely to encounter any wintery conditions (based on your route) There's no need to fit winter tyres.

 

[TerryL]

But if you do have winter tyres, i.e. with the snowflake symbol, that is acceptable - although having had quite a lot of snow driving in a coach, if I had a choice I wouldn't be going anywhere near snow!

 

[TC3]

Depends on where in the UK you are starting from and where in Italy you are going to.

The fastest/shortest way to Italy from most of the UK is the Harwich/Hoek of Holland ferry
(Even for us, and we are only 70 miles from Dover!)

The (toll free) route is then Holland, Germany, and then crossing the Alps in Austria.

You only need winter tyres in Austria after 1st November IF there is snow on the roads or you are over 3.5t.
The snow in Austria does not usually fall until Christmas.

Also the Austrians are incredibly efficient at plowing/gritting the roads.

The longer route via the Channel ports and France may make sense if you live in the south west, and are heading to north west of Italy (Remember to include the extra toll costs)

Cheers, wifey hates boats so Le Shuttle is the way we cross to France.