Winter equipment: when it is compulsory and what the law requires

When winter equipment is compulsory

Article 29 of the Slovenian Road Traffic Rules Act requires motor vehicles and trailers to carry the prescribed winter equipment between 15 November and 15 March of the following year.

The requirement is not tied to the dates alone. Winter equipment is also required outside that period whenever there are winter conditions — that is, when falling snow is settling on the road surface or the road is snow-covered, iced over or frozen.

What counts as winter equipment

The rules allow two options:

• winter tyres on all wheels, or
• summer tyres plus correctly sized snow chains, or devices approved as equivalent to chains, carried for the driven wheels.

For four-wheel-drive vehicles: with permanent drive, chains for at least one axle; with selectable drive, chains for at least the permanently driven axle.

Which tyres count as winter tyres

A tyre counts as a winter tyre if the manufacturer has marked the sidewall M+S, M.S or M&S. The marking alone is not enough: the main tread grooves must be at least 3 millimetres deep.

You can roughly gauge three millimetres with a one-euro coin, whose gold rim is about three millimetres wide. That is a rough check for your own orientation — we measure the exact depth with a gauge during a tyre change or inspection.

The 3 mm legal limit is not the same as the point at which replacing a tyre makes sense. What applies to your tyres we can only say after inspecting them — we check wear at every tyre change and tell you if a tyre is approaching the limit.

The exception for the coastal region

For vehicles used in the coastal region of Slovenia, summer tyres alone also count as winter equipment provided the main tread grooves are at least 3 millimetres deep. This exception does not apply to Kočevje and its surroundings.

When it is worth booking

The weeks before 15 November and after 15 March are the busiest in every workshop. Arranging a time in advance saves you the wait — you can call 041 341 102.

We balance the wheels during the change and, on request, can also do the wheel alignment during the same visit so you do not have to come twice.

The above is a summary of the rules in force and not legal advice. For the exact wording, see the Slovenian Road Traffic Rules Act or the guidance of the Slovenian Traffic Safety Agency.

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