WHEN IS THE RIGHT TIME TO CHANGE WINTER TYRES?

With the arrival of colder mornings, many motorists are starting to wonder whether it's time to change their car to winter tyres. Others ignore the question and drive on summer tyres despite the first snow. However, by doing so, they not only endanger their own safety and that of their passengers, but also pose a risk to other road users. These are the reasons why you shouldn't overlook the importance of changing to winter tyres, and why it's easier to hire a car from AVIS and leave the seasonal fitting to us.

WINTER TYRES AND LEGISLATION

The obligation to use winter tyres is regulated by Act No. 8/2009 Coll. on Road Traffic. This law stipulates that if there is a continuous layer of snow, ice or frost on the road, the passenger car must be fitted with winter tyres on all axles. Larger goods vehicles are obliged to have winter tyres on at least one axle between 15 November and 31 March, regardless of the weather. Although the law speaks of minimum requirements, experts recommend switching to winter tires even earlier. But when exactly?

WHEN TO CHANGE TO WINTER TYRES?

The general recommendation is that if the daytime temperature drops below 7 °C for three consecutive days, it is a good time to change to winter tyres. The timing depends on the region - in western Slovakia this time is most often in late October/early November, while in northern and colder regions it is already in the first half of October.

PARAMETERS THAT YOU SHOULD NOT OVERLOOK

In addition to temperature, you should also keep an eye on other aspects of your tyres, especially tread depth and tyre age. The law sets the minimum tread depth at 3 mm, but experts recommend a minimum of 4 mm for optimum safety. As for age, although the law does not regulate it, mechanics recommend not to use winter tyres older than 4 years. Older tyres lose grip as the rubber hardens over time. The age of the tire can be found on the sidewall in the form of a DOT code - the last four digits indicate the week and year of manufacture, for example, code 4523 means the tire was manufactured in the 45th week of 2023.

RENT A CAR IN AVIS

At AVIS, we leave nothing to chance and our vehicles always have the right seasonal fitment of premium tyre brands. This is true for both cars and commercial vehicles. Whether you choose a short-term, daily rental or a long-term rental for several months, the seasonal tyres are included in the rental price and you pay nothing for them. You can be sure that the vehicle you are driving always has good quality seasonal tyres .