hutpik:
It would be much simpler for example to just say that if you come from a country,or are going to,or through a country which has snow that you have to have winter tyres
Or if you go to the country where RHD cars are illegal (Lithuania, Poland), you will have to make a swap at the border 
Hi all.Simon.As to your absurd remark about the EU being a collective of different countries with different customs,rules etc that has sod all to do with what is purely a safety issue.ALL of the countries in Europe have bad winters with snow,ice and freezing fog so the issue of winter tyres relates to all countries.The fitting of winter tyres for ALL vehicles,cars and trucks would alleviate many of the costs and economic problems,not to mention pain and suffering caused by avoidable accidents.
Just as a minor example,in Lappland alone this year more than 25 polish and baltic country trucks have either been fined for bad tyres or been towed out of ditches by recovery vehicles.Think what this has cost the companies involved.
As to the USA.Regarding axel weights their system is so antiquated it is beyond belief.[yes i have lived and driven in North America]If you look at Europe which are many more countries the system is considerably more efficient and works better.
As to orys comment about steering wheels,maybe we should be like the old Portugese driving schools and have 2 steering wheels and sets of pedals for the once in a lifetime trip to Poland or the Baltic,and anyway Orys you probably still have your Polski fiat[with LHD]so whats your problem.Mike
hutpik:
As to orys comment about steering wheels,maybe we should be like the old Portugese driving schools and have 2 steering wheels and sets of pedals for the once in a lifetime trip to Poland or the Baltic,and anyway Orys you probably still have your Polski fiat[with LHD]so whats your problem.Mike
My “problem” is that if you want to introduce mandatory tyre changing when going to another country, why not mandatory steering wheel changing? it’s exactly the same logic.
As for your dual drive cars: people from Southern Italy for example would not like to buy winter tires to go via Germany once in few years. All year round tyres would also not be good for them with summer temperatures of 40C etc. So this is the same amount of absurd as your demand for dual drive.
Saying that, I have all season tires on my car - they are not more expensive than summer one and for Scottish weather they are good, as we don’t have too much snow, nor it’s getting too hot. But I was also going via Germany on summer tyres one (this was a kind of emergency situation) and when it was snowing hardly and there was steep hill ahead, I just pulled over, got 3 hours of sleep and by then the road was cleaned again. Because, as someone rightly pointed, it’s not NOT HAVING winter tires illegal, but driving the car which is not suitable for conditions. So when the conditions were making it unsafe or impossible to drive on winter tires, you just have to give up. Simples.
And no, I am no longer owner of this fiat, but it still well cared for by the member of the family and I think it will stay there, or I will buy it back as a youngtimer 
hutpik:
Hi all.Simon.As to your absurd remark about the EU being a collective of different countries with different customs,rules etc that has sod all to do with what is purely a safety issue.ALL of the countries in Europe have bad winters with snow,ice and freezing fog so the issue of winter tyres relates to all countries.The fitting of winter tyres for ALL vehicles,cars and trucks would alleviate many of the costs and economic problems,not to mention pain and suffering caused by avoidable accidents.
It has everything to do with our countries differing rules, customs etc.
It may well be a sensible safety issue and if ALL of Europe had bad winter driving conditions every year I could see the point.
So far this winter, driving in the UK, Germany, Switzerland and the countries in between, I’ve had no need what-so-ever for winter tyres. Even last winter I only really wanted winter tyres on one part of a journey on one day, but I managed without anyway. I drive for a small Scottish company, we use standard tyres all year round. Why should we go to the additional expense of fitting winter tyres to 75% of our fleet for 4 months of the year if there is no need ?
That is a very naive view,you NEVER know how the winter will progress.I have been snowed in as far south as Rome,Madrid,and Greece so you never know.And if,by fitting winter tyres which will last maybe for 4 winters you can avoid 1 accident or written off truck it has to be worth it. The economical benefits alone,delays,lost loads etc, make it worth while.We had min30c in november.In December it was almost Tshirt weather with no snow and now we have 1mtr of snow.
hutpik:
That is a very naive view,you NEVER know how the winter will progress.I have been snowed in as far south as Rome,Madrid,and Greece so you never know.And if,by fitting winter tyres which will last maybe for 4 winters you can avoid 1 accident or written off truck it has to be worth it. The economical benefits alone,delays,lost loads etc, make it worth while.We had min30c in november.In December it was almost Tshirt weather with no snow and now we have 1mtr of snow.
So in this very unlikely event that there will be sudden snow storm, you just stop on the roadside park and wait for the road to be cleared. You will be late anyway, so this make no difference at all. And it is much cheaper than buying winter tires ,which are not needed.
orys:
hutpik:
That is a very naive view,you NEVER know how the winter will progress.I have been snowed in as far south as Rome,Madrid,and Greece so you never know.And if,by fitting winter tyres which will last maybe for 4 winters you can avoid 1 accident or written off truck it has to be worth it. The economical benefits alone,delays,lost loads etc, make it worth while.We had min30c in november.In December it was almost Tshirt weather with no snow and now we have 1mtr of snow.So in this very unlikely event that there will be sudden snow storm, you just stop on the roadside park and wait for the road to be cleared. You will be late anyway, so this make no difference at all. And it is much cheaper than buying winter tires ,which are not needed.
Precisely Orys.
You’re location is given as kattÃ¥n.lappland.sweden Hutpik. 1 metre of snow is, I would expect, perfectly normal for this time of year, if not less than normal.
When you get those conditions year in, year out, then fair enough, proper snow tyres and all the rest of the gear (chains etc) are a necessary expense. It would be stupid not to have them, you need them. It’s very rare for us to really need them.
This week I had an unusual trip. I had to deliver a piece of farm equipment to a supplier of such equipment, a fair bit off the beaten track (a little place called Oppem, up in the foothills of the Alps in Switzerland, near Yvredon). Snow tyres would have helped this time. I looked into the junction of the country road a expected to take, but it had quite a lot of freshly fallen snow on it. No way was I going to risk getting stuck on it with the tyres I have fitted. So I found a safe place to park and called my boss. A little while later I got a call from the customer with a good alternative route. I made the delivery with no further problems and by the time I was returning the snow was melting and I could have used my planned route. This is the first time I’ve really wanted snow tyres for many years. There have been many times when snow tyres would have been nice, I don’t deny that, but there’s a big difference between what I would LIKE and what I NEED.
Most of the time, snow tyres would simply be quickly worn away on wet tarmac, which ordinary tyres are perfectly good for. All that’s needed is a bit of extra care.