Are studded tires legal in Colorado?

Colorado law sets no seasonal dates for studded tires. Colorado law has no studded tire season: passenger vehicles and single tired vehicles up to three quarters of a ton may use studs that stick out no more than one sixteenth of an inch. C.R.S. 42-4-228(3) reads: "No tire on a vehicle moved on a highway shall have on its periphery any block, stud, flange, cleat, or spike or any other protuberances of any material other than rubber which projects beyond the tread on the traction surface of the tire; except that, on single-tired passenger vehicles and on other single-tired vehicles with rated capacities up to and including three-fourths ton, it shall be permissible to use tires containing studs or other protuberances which do not project more than one-sixteenth of an inch beyond the tread of the traction surface of the tire;"

Colorado law sets no start or end date, so the conditions in the statute apply all year. The stud allowance covers single tired passenger vehicles and other single tired vehicles rated up to three quarters of a ton, with studs projecting no more than one sixteenth of an inch.

The stud allowance covers single tired passenger vehicles and other single tired vehicles rated up to three quarters of a ton, with studs projecting no more than one sixteenth of an inch.

CDOT can put the Traction Law in effect on any state highway during winter storms; vehicles then need qualifying tires with at least 3/16 inch tread or chains or an approved alternative device. Under the Chain Law, the last step before closing a highway, every vehicle needs chains or an approved alternative traction device. The statute reads: "When the passenger vehicle chain law is in effect, every vehicle must have chains or an approved alternative traction device."

CDOT keeps a list of approved alternative traction devices, including cable chains and tire socks such as AutoSock.

Wyoming, no seasonal dates; Nebraska, November 1 through April 1; Kansas, November 1 through April 1; Oklahoma, November 1 through April 1; New Mexico, no seasonal dates; Arizona, October 1 through May 1; Utah, October 15 through March 31. Each state's page quotes its own statute.