++++ NEWS UPDATE: The Italian Ministry of Sustainable Infrastructures and Mobility (MIMS) accepts AutoSock as snow chain equivalent. From November 15th, 2022, AutoSock can be legally used instead of metallic snow chains without risking any fine. Read more about the latest news here. ++++
The current legal situation in Italy regarding the usage of snow socks is unclear and confusing for consumers. The auto magazine Sicurauto recently published an article about the legal gap in Italy.
AutoSock summarizes the Italian article in an excerpt, translated into English and focuses hereby on the paragraph of the controversy legal situation.
“According to the Ministry of Transport and the Ministerial Decree of 10 May 2021, the only additional grip devices for car tires authorized in Italy are those that comply with the UNI 11313 standard or the V5117 standard. […] AutoSock is approved by the Austrian standard V5121, which Italy does not recognize. […]
CEN (The European Committee for Standardization) published the new European standard EN 16662-1: 2020 on 27 May 2020. The standard was then implemented in Italy by the Italian National Unification Body (UNI) with UNI EN 16662-1: 2020, which came into force on 12 November 2020 in order to replace the old UNI 11313: 2010. UNI EN 16662-1: 2020 provides e.g., the specifications on the safety, performance and quality requirements for supplementary grip devices. […]
[…] The Italian legislation still refers to UNI 11313 from 2010 and has not yet been updated to UNI 16662-1 from 2020. At the same time, AutoSock […] has already revised their products successfully, adapting them to the new European standard. In theory, snow socks that comply with UNI-16662-1 are approved for use in Italy since November 2020. But the former Ministry of Transport has not yet taken action to replace the now obsolete Ministerial Decree of 10 May 2011 that recalls a now withdrawn standard UNI 11313: 2010. It must be mentioned, after the 2013 circular, there are no high fines for the use of snow socks.”
Read here the full article of Sicurauto (in Italian language).
Sicurauto sent an official request of clarification to the competent offices (Ministries and Traffic Police) and keeps consumers informed.
AutoSock will inform on the regulations page and in this news blog about potential regulation changes in Italy as soon as it is definite.
Do you need more information about EN16662-1? Read our news post here or watch our explainer video in multiple languages here.
Read also our news article "Challenge accepted: Austrian Ministry denies Acceptance of AutoSock", "The AutoSock Regulations Update for the new Winter Season 2021-2022" and "The Story behind European Standard EN16662-1:2020".
