Might be a silly question but are all season tyres in the US same as in Europe or is the concept slightly different here? I drove thru some terrible snowstorms in Buffalo with no problems but tonight it was VERY dicey on just a little snow on the ground and I am not even up in the mountains. Weird....
These are Pirellis Scorpio Verde or something like that. 1 year old with 10k on them. I was sliding all over the place. first time in my life and the car is AWD
I am not debating All season vs winter tyres. Just wanted to know if european all seasons were different from US ones.
To be honest, I have had Subaru AWD since living in Switzerland and have never thought of using all seasons like we did back in the states. Then again, I didn't have to put up with cold, white Winters in the states
This is not an answer to your tyres question, but in reply to 'Buffalo in the Mountains', well little snow, makes me compare to this part of Switzerland in Thurgau, low down, we have little snow, but some roads can be dangerous due to the freezing ice, previous skid marks, so as you said, VERY dicey.
As a few have said here its the ice you need the winter tyres for not the snow since drive in heavy snow is a lot safer then when there is a small amount of snow combined with ice.
In answer to the question the tyres of the USA are highly unlikely to be the same since that would be one of the few thngs that are as the USA seems to always want to make things specificallly for their market only
I think the answer to your question - be it yes, no, or the same - is immaterial.
The important thing is that if the boots you have on, now, don't grip too well in the conditions here, then you need to change them.
I use ones from Finland, as the Finns probably know a bit more about driving in harsh winter conditions compared with other manufactures based in more temperate climes.
Heard that if you don't have the "M+S" mark or the snowflake symbol on your tires and you get into an accident, your insurance will not cover you. Anyone please correct me if I am wrong.
I drove in the US in heavy snow with all seasons without any problems too. However those same all seasons were almost useless in a few cm's of CH snow. Some have told me it has to do with the snow formation & composition. Not sure how true that is.
My $ 0.02 - forget all season tires. Two sets winter and summer if you love life.
Pretty daft to compare the US where you have turnpikes about 30 yards wide with a ditch between oncoming vehicles and some narrow mountain roads that we have here, where grip is king and the slightest skid makes you an accident statistic.
Winter tyres aren't obligatory - but you do have to have the appropriate tyres for the condition in which you're driving, in regards of surface conditions and temperature.
So if you go through winter only driving on sunny days warmer than 8°, you don't need them.
However, insurance companies have a knack of going out of their way to find any reason to avoid settlement - it's not worth it.
Even it did refer to winter tyres (which I'm sure it doesn't - Tom is probably right re. chains), it would only be for that stretch of road - not the entire Swiss road network ...... and would come under "...appropriate tyres for conditions ..."
It is not a legal requirement to have to change to winter tyres, per se.