I saw this 1960's era advertisement for Firestone studded tires. Since I live in Illinois, and it has been illegal to drive with studded tires in this state, for approximately 35 years, I had assumed that all states had passed laws prohibiting those type of tires. Well, you know what they say when you "ASSUME"?

I checked on the World Wide Web and I found out that 41 states & DC allow studded tires. Even Hawaii has laws against the use of the studded tire. Except on top of the volcano - the state doesn't get any snow.

As a side note, there is currently approx. 6 inches of snow on top of Mauna Kea volcano & Mauna Loa volcano. This year, 49 states have had snow. Florida is the only state that hasn't had any snow this year.

Getting back to studded tires. Here are the individual state laws.

State Laws

Alabama - ILLEGAL
Alaska - Sept 15 - May 1; South of 60 degrees - Sept 30 - Apr 15 (SARAH can use them all year)
Arizona - Oct 1 - May 1
Arkansas - Nov 15 - Apr 15
California - Nov 1 - Apr 1
Colorado - No Restrictions
Connecticut - Nov 15 - Apr 30
Delaware - Oct 15 - Apr 15
District of Columbia - Oct 15 - Apr 15
Florida - ILLEGAL
Georgia - Permitted only for driving on snow or ice
Hawaii - ILLEGAL
Idaho - Oct 1 - Apr 15
Illinois - ILLEGAL
Indiana - Oct 1 - May 1
Iowa - Nov 1 - Apr 1
Kansas - Nov 1 - Apr 15
Kentucky - No Restrictions
Louisiana - ILLEGAL
Maine - Oct 1-Apr 30
Maryland - ILLEGAL EXCEPT 5 mountain counties
Massachusetts - Nov 2 - Apr 30
Michigan - Nov 1 - Apr 1, Northern regions: Oct 1 - May 1
Minnesota - ILLEGAL
Mississippi - ILLEGAL
Missouri - Nov 1 - Mar 31
Montana - Oct 1 - May 1
Nebraska - Nov 1 - Apr 1
Nevada - Oct 1 - Apr 30
New Hampshire - No Restrictions
New Jersey - Nov 15 - Apr 1
New Mexico - No Restrictions
New York - Oct 16 - Apr 30
North Carolina - No Restrictions
North Dakota - Oct 15 - Apr 15
Ohio - Nov 1 - Apr 15
Oklahoma - Nov 1 - Apr 1
Oregon - Nov 1 - Apr 30
Pennsylvania - Nov 1 - Apr 15
Rhode Island - Nov 15 - Apr 1
South Carolina - snow and ice driving
South Dakota - Oct 1 - Apr 30
Tennessee - Oct 1 - Apr 15
Texas - ILLEGAL
Utah - Oct 15 - Apr 15
Vermont - No Restrictions
Virginia - Oct 15 - Apr 15
Washington - Nov 2 - Mar 31
West Virginia - Nov 1 - Apr 15
Wisconsin - ILLEGAL
Wyoming - No Restrictions

Only 3 NORTHERN STATES have laws that prohibit studded tires. All other NORTHERN STATES allow the use of studs. Those states must actually care about the safety of their human citizens, as opposed to Illinois where the bureaucrats care about their asphalt and concrete "citizens."

For all of you unfortunate residents of Illinois, and the the other 8 states that make it crime to drive safely, I have posted the Firestone ad for your education.

Why did Illinois pass that silly law, a third of a century ago? We all know that the asphalt & concrete roadways are far more important than the lives of the citizens of the state of Illinois (said sarcastically.) The supposed reason was that the little metal studs damage the roads. It couldn't possibly be that the inferior thickness of the asphalt could possibly have anything to do with the decline of the roads. Maybe there is a possibility that the massive semi truck traffic, in the Chicago metro area, is responsible for the road damage. Chicago is the truck capitol of the U.S. (center of the country geographically & all railroads intersect in Chicago area.) No, that can't be the reason either. It had to be the little 1/16 inch metal studs that had been doing the damage. 41 states allow studded tires and are able to have passable roadways, but Illinois can't accomplish that feat.

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