M+S or Winter tires required in western U.S.?

06Fargo wrote:
I did a search of DOT websites.

It appears M+S or winter (mountain-snowflake marked) tires are not required in WA, ID, MT, UT, CA, NV, AZ unless conditions warrant authorities to require them i.e. the "chain up/winter tire lights are on.." or road checks are in place due to conditions...

It appears carrying & installing chains when required on non M+S or winter tires is sufficient.

Please correct if I have this wrong.

Thanks

Correct.

And further broken down by Buzzcut1

When we were enforcing the snow tires/chain laws we do look for the designation on the tires. If you need to be in chains, to be honest you need to be parked. Most times aggressive tread M/S is sufficient. Plus the weight of your truck and camper gives you amazing traction, until you are stopped on an off camber road or driveway.

The biggest problem is the belief the roads should be plowed down to the pavement, which is often not the case out west. Too many car/truck owners have gotten away from the habit of switching out their tires, ahead of the winter season to snow tires. With the advent of All Season Tires much of this habit seems to have gone away. I can't begin to share how many Z rated tires on cars/trucks that we encountered spun out and sometimes wrecked. Many times I just advised the person that they were going to stay right where they slid into, due to their choice or tires and equipment. Your LEOs will have no time or patience for those that have showed up in flip flops, t-shirt and shorts, in a snow storm. So if you are traveling during the winter weather event, come prepared. You might need to shelter one of those wayward "Flip-Flop" drivers, to save their life.

b