                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

CLEATS, ETC., ON TIRES; CHAINS; TIRES WITH STUDS (§ 46.2-1044)

No tire on a vehicle moved on a highway shall have on its periphery any block,
stud, flange, cleat, spike, or any other protuberance of any material other than
rubber which projects beyond the tread of the traction surface of the tire. It
shall be permissible, however, to use on the highways farm machinery having
protuberances which will not injure the highway and to use tire chains of
reasonable proportions when required for safety because of snow, ice, or other
conditions tending to cause a vehicle to slide or skid. It shall also be
permissible to use on any vehicle whose gross weight does not exceed 10,000
pounds tires with studs which project no more than one-sixteenth of an inch
beyond the tread of the traction surface of the tire when compressed if the
studs cover no more than three percent of the traction surface of the tire.
		The use of studded tires shall be permissible only from October 15 to April
15.
		The provisions of this section shall not apply to any (i) law-enforcement
vehicle operated by or under the direction of a federal, state, or local
law-enforcement officer; (ii) vehicle used to fight fire, including publicly
owned state forest warden vehicles; (iii) emergency medical services vehicle; or
(iv) vehicle owned or operated by the Virginia Department of Transportation or
its contractors in maintenance and emergency response operations.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 46-300; 1958, c. 541, § 46.1-296; 1968, c. 1; 1970, c.
263; 1972, c. 39; 1974, c. 368; 1976, c. 315; 1978, c. 259; 1989, c. 727; 2009,
c. 118; 2015, cc. 502, 503.