<p>A fleet manager&rsquo;s experience with tyres on a car one of his drivers planned to use for a trip to Austria have prompted a call for fleets to be given access to a special industry information service on European legislation.</p> <p>Continental Tyres is asking officials at ETRTO, the organisation that collates international legal requirements for tyre manufacturers, to help fleet managers find out about rules governing tyre use across different countries.</p> <p>Its call came after a fleet manager discovered one of his drivers would be driving illegally on tyres that in this country were above the legal minimum tread depth.</p> <p>&ldquo;Something needs to be done. It was only by chance that I discovered the tyres on one of our cars were illegal for use in Austria hours before the trip started. Getting it sorted at such short notice caused a lot of stress,&rdquo; said Hannaford fleet manager Leigh Stiff.</p> <p>Continental marketing manager Tim Bailey said: &ldquo;The rules can be complex and we think it would help fleet managers, their drivers and members of the public to know about them well in advance. I&rsquo;m confident an information service will be on stream in due course.</p> <p>&ldquo;In the meantime, fleet managers and their drivers should be aware that even though the legal tread depth limit is 1.6mm across most European countries, vehicles used on Austrian roads between November 1 and April 15 need to be fitted with winter tyres marked with the M&amp;S symbol on the sidewalls and have a minimum tread depth of 4mm.</p> <p>&ldquo;Fines range from &euro;35 to &euro;5,000 and your car can also be impounded. Worse still, the legislation can also vary region by region &ndash; and if a vehicle on summer tyres is involved in an accident, the onus is on its driver to prove that what happened was inevitable regardless of the covers being used. &ldquo;<br /> &nbsp;</p>