To drive with snow tires or not? A real headache in Ariège at the time of fines

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Until now, many had not paid attention to it. In 2021, the prefectures published the list of municipalities where winter equipment was now necessary to ride from November 1 to March 31 in a third of French departments. And Ariègein the heart of the Pyrenees was naturally part of it.

Except that at the time, it was just a question of teaching. Three years later, tolerance is over. The time for fines has come. Snow tires will be truly compulsory from November 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025. In the event of non-compliance with this obligation, it is 135 euros fine for offenders (fine of 4^e class). And that's not the only change…

Who is affected?

Vehicles (all those with four or more wheels) circulating, even occasionally, in certain municipalities, must therefore be equipped with winter tires (snow tires) or chains. Light vehicles (category M1 and N1), utility vehicles (category M2 and M3), buses and heavy goods vehicles (category N2 and N3) are concerned.

What to wear?

As for equipment, you will need to have on hand or equip your vehicle with a choice of “removable anti-slip devices (chains and socks)” or winter tires, reminds Road Safety.

The regulations allow choose between metal chains and “textile chains” commonly called “snow socks”. You need at least two to equip the drive wheels. Chains or socks must be stored on board the vehicle, and ready to use, as long as the journey takes an axis in the areas concerned by the new regulations.

And regarding snow tires, These must be tires falling under the “3PMSF” designation. Until now, 4S “4 seasons” tires could be considered winter tires provided they were stamped “3PMSF”. Likewise, vehicles “wearing studded tires [étaient] exempt from equipment obligations. From 1^is November 2024, only 3PMSF tires will be accepted as equivalent to the chains. The purchase and use of other “snow tires” will remain possible, but in this case users will also have to have chains to travel from 1^is November to March 31 in the areas affected by the measure.

Where to ride with it, where to ride without it?

And be careful, because in Ariège more than elsewhere it is complicated and difficult to find your way around. Unlike Lozère, the only department in Occitanie whose entire network requires equipment, the position of Ariège in a mountain area does not result in a classification for the entire territory…

If the highest municipalities are naturally concerned, this is not automatic. For example, with an altitude between 615 m and 2,902 m, the town of Siguer escaped… But not Fougax-et-Barineuf, lower (between 511 and 1,120 m). And there is even another subtlety. Some municipalities only have part of their road network where the equipment will be compulsory.

Delicate arbitrations

How to explain this situation? The list had in fact been given birth in pain by the prefecture three years ago, after a standoff between the president of the Department, Christine Tequi, and the police station of the Pyrenees massif.

The working basis was that 78 municipalities out of the 327 in the department had to comply with the obligation. Anything above 600 m. In the end, there will only be 46. Here are the ones.

• Albiès, Appy, Artigues, Ascou, Aulus-les-Bains, Auzat, Axiat, Ax-les-Thermes, Bélesta, Bestiac, Boussenac, Carcanières, Caussou, Caychax, Cazenave-Serres et Allen, Fougax-et-Barineuf, L' Hospitalet-près-l'Andorre, Ignaux, Lordat, Massat, Mérens-les-Vals, Mijanès, Montaillou, Montferrier, Montségur, Orgeix, Orlu, Orus, Pech, Le Pla, Le Port, Prades, Le Puch, Quérigut, Rouze , Saurat, Savignac-les-Ormeaux, Sensonac, Sorgeat, Tignac, Unac, Ustou, Vaychis, Verdun, Vernaux, Val-de-Sos.

But be careful. It's more complicated than it looks. Certain roads are excluded from this obligation. Thus, in Albiès, Unac and Verdun, traffic on the RN20 will be exempt. Same for all tracks located north of the junction between the RD9 and the RD16 in Bélesta. And this will also be the case for the RD17 in Montferrier. As for masses, only one portion of the RD18 and the RD618 will be affected by the obligation. It is therefore better to find out before…

To find all the municipalities where winter equipment is obligatory, click here. And more info here.

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