Is it legal to use summer and winter tires at the same time? What the traffic law establishes

For drivers in Romania, the transition from one season to another also means an extra expense with changing tires. Because when the road is covered with snow, winter tires must be used, and when it’s hot outside, summer tires are recommended. But, is it legal to use summer and winter tires at the same time, without replacing them altogether at the change of season?

Changing tires can be quite a hassle. Because many drivers do not know when the winter ones should be installed or when the summer ones should be put on.

Others turn to all-season tires, but which experts say are not effective either in summer or winter.

But if you use two summer tires and two winter tires at the same time, is it legal?

Is it legal to use summer and winter tires at the same time?

The traffic law does not determine what types of tires the car must be equipped with except when driving on a snow-covered road.

In such situations, regardless of the season, the vehicle must be equipped with winter tires. But can you drive a car that has both winter tires and summer tires?

„The law does not prohibit the installation of different tires, but the stability and grip of the car will suffer. Because summer tires behave differently from winter tires. For example, if you have summer tires on the front and winter tires on the back, when it’s hot outside you’ll have good grip on the front but poor grip on the back. When it’s cold outside, the grip on the face will be reduced. And if the road is covered with snow or ice, you will almost certainly lose control of the car. That’s why, legal or not, you should never have winter and summer tires on your car at the same time”, mechanic Robert Marin explained to ProMotor.

Therefore, it is advisable for the car to have all four tires of the same type. In the cold season, it is recommended that the car has winter tires. Because they are made of a softer rubber that retains its grip at low temperatures.

But in summer, winter tires become stiffer. That is why it is recommended to be equipped with summer tires in the warm season, which become effective at temperatures above 10-15 degrees Celsius.