46.2-1044 - Cleats, etc., on tires; chains; tires with studs.
§ 46.2-1044. Cleats, etc., on tires; chains; tires with studs.
No tire on a vehicle moved on a highway shall have on its periphery anyblock, stud, flange, cleat, spike, or any other protuberance of any materialother than rubber which projects beyond the tread of the traction surface ofthe tire. It shall be permissible, however, to use on the highways farmmachinery having protuberances which will not injure the highway and to usetire chains of reasonable proportions when required for safety because ofsnow, 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 doesnot exceed 10,000 pounds tires with studs which project no more thanone-sixteenth of an inch beyond the tread of the traction surface of the tirewhen compressed if the studs cover no more than three percent of the tractionsurface of the tire.
The use of studded tires shall be permissible only from October 15 to April15.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to any (i) law-enforcementvehicle operated by or under the direction of a federal, state, or locallaw-enforcement officer; (ii) vehicle used to fight fire, including publiclyowned state forest warden vehicles; (iii) ambulance, rescue, or life-savingvehicle; or (iv) vehicle owned or operated by the Virginia Department ofTransportation or its contractors in maintenance and emergency responseoperations.
(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.)