The Swedish Transport Agency has now put down a proposal that the government made last year. The reason? The tires give bad air.
Last year, the government in Sweden proposed extending the period in which studded tires are allowed to be worn by two weeks into the spring.
The Swedes justified the proposal by saying that they want to avoid stressing the country's workshops and mechanics during the relatively short period when many Swedes otherwise switch from studded tires to regular summer tires.
But now the Swedish Transport Agency says no. The rejection comes after the pros and cons of the proposal have been weighed against each other. And here there are more disadvantages to be found than the Swedes will allow.
At least if you ask the Transport Agency. The agency itself writes this in a press release .
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– We have concluded that the negative consequences are greater than the positive ones and therefore propose no change to the date for the studded tire ban in the spring in our presentation, says Kjell-Olof Matsson, who is employed by the Transport Agency.
Specifically, it is air pollution that puts an end to studded tyres. By extending the period when the type of tire is permitted, there is a risk of deteriorating air quality, says the assessment.
The Transport Agency is particularly concerned about an increased amount of the so-called 'PM10 particles', which, if they come into contact with lung tissue, can cause both short- and long-term damage.
– Investigation after investigation in recent years has unequivocally identified the use of studded tires as the main cause of high particle concentrations in Sweden, writes the Transport Agency.
The unchanged rules mean that it will still only be permitted to drive on studded tires between 1 October and 15 April. However, winter tires in general are a legal requirement between 1 December and 31 March.
Here, the Swedes stand out significantly from Danish conditions. At home, the government does not want to hear talk of a mandate for winter tyres. Not even if that debate otherwise raged in most of the country during the course of last winter. Read more about it here.
The survey, on which the Swedish Transport Agency based its no to studded tyres, was made with the help of questionnaires among 6,700 people, the police and the tire industry.
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