Salzburg to Kaprun - Snowchains??

You mean you have not heard of snow cans ?? :oops:

Ian Wickham wrote:In most countries in Europe it is a legal requirement to carry snow cans, if your traveling by car they are a must. :lol:

It's not a legal requirement in any European country to carry snow chains that I'm aware of, other than people living in remote areas or going into remote areas no one would particularly carry them. Some roads can be closed to traffic without snow chains though. Basically, you're not going to get pulled up and fined for not having chains but you can be turned back from a road. That also means your hire car company aren't obliged to provide them of course.

ise wrote:

Ian Wickham wrote:In most countries in Europe it is a legal requirement to carry snow cans, if your traveling by car they are a must. :lol:

It's not a legal requirement in any European country to carry snow chains that I'm aware of, other than people living in remote areas or going into remote areas no one would particularly carry them. Some roads can be closed to traffic without snow chains though. Basically, you're not going to get pulled up and fined for not having chains but you can be turned back from a road. That also means your hire car company aren't obliged to provide them of course.

Ise, we are talking about snow cans here, if you dont mind....

Tony_H wrote:
Ise, we are talking about snow cans here, if you dont mind....

the snow can someone's opened up over the alpes recently you mean?

ise wrote:

Tony_H wrote:
Ise, we are talking about snow cans here, if you dont mind....

the snow can someone's opened up over the alpes recently you mean?

That must be a bloody big one, and I hope hes got a few more.

However, I think Ian was talking about snow cans that you take in your car, whatever they are. Is it fake snow like the stuff you spray on windows in this country at Xmas?

ise wrote:

Ian Wickham wrote:In most countries in Europe it is a legal requirement to carry snow cans, if your traveling by car they are a must. :lol:

It's not a legal requirement in any European country to carry snow chains that I'm aware of, other than people living in remote areas or going into remote areas no one would particularly carry them. Some roads can be closed to traffic without snow chains though. Basically, you're not going to get pulled up and fined for not having chains but you can be turned back from a road. That also means your hire car company aren't obliged to provide them of course.

ise, I stand corrected it's not a legal requirement, but still you have to be daft not to carry them.

Power to the "snow can" popular front :D

Ian Wickham wrote:

ise wrote:

Ian Wickham wrote:In most countries in Europe it is a legal requirement to carry snow cans, if your traveling by car they are a must. :lol:

It's not a legal requirement in any European country to carry snow chains that I'm aware of, other than people living in remote areas or going into remote areas no one would particularly carry them. Some roads can be closed to traffic without snow chains though. Basically, you're not going to get pulled up and fined for not having chains but you can be turned back from a road. That also means your hire car company aren't obliged to provide them of course.

ise, I stand corrected it's not a legal requirement, but still you have to be daft not to carry them.

Power to the "snow can" popular front :D

mostly it doesn't make any real difference whether it's the law or not, apart from it lets the hire company charge extra.

Winter tires I think will increasingly become required either legally or just practically, I was just driving up the road and without you'd have a dilemma, it's packed snow, slush or ice in various proportions which the winter tyres make short work of but chains would be OTT.

Places are going to stop or reduce salting as it's not very green which will make winter tires more essential maybe.

Here is a link to the Autrian transport Ministry:

http://www.bmvit.gv.at/en/verkehr/roads/tyres.html

It says:

Between 1 November and 15 April of the following year drivers of private cars and goods vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes maximum gross vehicle weight must be suitably equipped for winter conditions. That means that drivers using the roads in wintry conditions during this period must have winter tyres fitted.

While it also mentions the possibility of using chains with Summer tires, I assume that this would only apply outside of the specified winter period. Furthermore, it seems to be the case that it is actually against the law to use chains unless the road is completely covered in snow or ice. (This is to prevent damage to the road surface.)

So to answer your question, snow chains are not compulsory and as Ise has already pointed out, you would probably only need them to get through very extreme conditions.

Unfortunately, the site is silent on the use of Snow Cans :mrgreen: