Swedish law currently states that all cars must be equipped with winter tyres between December 1st and March 31st if required by the weather conditions.
But this could change later this year if a new proposal goes through.
Exactly how it might change depends on the feedback the government receives from the relevant organisations and agencies who have been invited to comment on the proposal. They have until the end of April to submit their comments to the government.
There are two options on the table:
Either scrap the dates altogether and make winter tyres entirely contingent on the weather conditions. Heavy vehicles, such as trucks, would still have to be equipped with winter tyres or snow chains in winter, and the period for that would be extended to November 1st - April 15th.
Or extend the dates to November 1st - April 15th for all vehicles.
If approved, the new rules are meant to come into force on November 1st, in time for the start of the 2025/2026 winter season.
The tightened rules follow two major incidents in Sweden last year, when hundreds of vehicles got stuck on the E22 motorway January 3rd-5th – some for more than 24 hours – and on the E4 motorway next to Lake Vättern in a late spring snowstorm on April 2nd-3rd.
The government writes that changing weather conditions could lead to increasingly slippery roads and more incidents in the future.
"The Swedish Transport Administration estimates, based on data from its roadside weather stations and from SMHI [the national meteorological office], that the number of slips will increase over time. This is believed to be because of climate change," it writes.
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