HELENA – The deadline to remove studded snow tires from vehicles is fast approaching. Drivers must remove studded tires by the end of the day Thursday or risk getting pulled over.
The Helena Police Department said officers will begin stopping vehicles and issuing warnings to drivers or in more rare cases – a ticket.
Assistant Police Chief Steve Hagen said in addition to being bad for the roads, the studded tires pose a safety risk on dry pavement. Hagen said the tires increase stopping distance on the road.
“It’s almost like driving on gravel and it will increase your stopping distance on dry ground,” Hagen said. “It also causes some damage to the roadways. But depending on what situation you’re in- if you’re in an accident where one of the contributing factors was the studded snow tires, you might get a ticket.”
Snow tires are allowed on Montana roads from Oct. 1 to May 31.
