The odyssey of regional and provincial ordinances governing road traffic with mandatory snow chains on board (or alternatively winter tires) began last year, creating total chaos.
The traffic disruptions along the Apennine motorway in the winter of 2010 prompted the Ministry to step in with a flurry of ordinances which, region by region and province by province, required motorists to drive with snow chains or winter tires starting from a specific date regardless of weather conditions (unlike what is prescribed by the Highway Code in the presence of standard road signs).
For this 2012/2013 winter as well, the issue of ordinances is back, along with a few new developments which, as we will see, certainly do not simplify matters.
The main development is that the Ministry has clarified Article 6, paragraph 4, letter e) of the Highway Code:
Article 6, paragraph 4, letter e) of the Highway Code, following the amendments introduced by Law no. 120 of July 29, 2010 (“Provisions on road safety”), introduced the possibility for road owners or operators to establish, by ordinance, the requirement for vehicles to be fitted with or carry on board snow chains (so-called anti-skid devices) or winter tires suitable for driving on snow or ice.
Emphasizing that this rule must be interpreted as a requirement independent of environmental/weather conditions, and that the specific requirements to be implemented may be varied by regional or provincial authorities.
This means that ordinances apply in all weather conditions (sunshine or snow makes no difference)—at least on this point matters have been clarified.
Yet as often happens, for every problem solved, new ones arise.
Complicating this legislative maze even further is the autonomy of regional and provincial authorities. As a result of the Ministry’s own explanation, each region and each province may issue ordinances requiring snow chains or winter tires, or snow chains only (meaning even if your vehicle is already fitted with winter tires).
Not to mention that ordinances often do not cover all roads, but only certain ones—and in specific cases only certain sections of a road rather than its entire length.
In short, the confusion is total!
Ordinances still pending in many areas of Italy
At this point many of you will already be frustrated (or worse), but there is one last piece of bad news: the ordinances are not ready yet.
Currently there is a regulatory vacuum and very few areas have already issued their new winter traffic rules; “so much the better,” you might say, except that those that have already issued them have scheduled the first restrictions starting as early as mid-October and others in early November. Consequently, in areas where authorities are running late, motorists could find themselves facing a new “anti-snow” ordinance overnight without warning.
To see what the current situation looks like, simply check the Assogomma map, which summarizes all the ordinances area by area. Just hover your mouse over the various points on the map to notice that in many provinces the reference ordinance is still the one from 2011.
For now we must be patient while waiting for the relevant authorities to bring clarity; as motorists, all we can do is check the map linked above in the hope of finding the 2012 ordinance for our area.
Anyone who fails to comply with the rule faces a fine ranging from 80 to 318 euros, and last year quite a few fines were issued.
We will try to keep you updated on this topic, but what do you think of this “mandatory chains on board” rule—is it useful, or does it only create confusion?
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