Unintended Consequences, Volume 23,497

A recent article (3 November) in Mladá fronta Dnes (sorry, no link, and anyways it would be in Czech) points out that because of a new law, all cars must be outfitted with snow tires after November 1. This is causing headaches for Czech car manufacturers, because they have to drive the cars "a couple hundred meters" to the train station, after which they are transported to dealerships or distribution centers by train. Moreover, customers who buy cars between November and March have to have snow tires as soon as they roll off the lot. This means they have to buy snow tires directly from Škoda, (whose dealerships don't particularly want to double their tire inventories) or customers need to buy regular tires when the weather warms up. In any case, Škoda has now started to deliver cars by truck in the wintertime to manage this problem. This is more expensive, and it requires cars to be sorted at the factory (rather than at their staging ground near the train station in Vrchlabí) for domestic and foreign markets, some of which (like southern Italy) rarely see snow. The spokewoman for the Ministry of Transportation, Květa Kočová, explains that dealers can also "recommend the nearest mechanic that can change out tires," since "it's not a calamity." The other option is that buyers can "bring their snow tires with them [to the dealership] and change the tires themselves."

It's not a calamity, it's just a hassle for people who are affected by the law, and a reminder that the law is often a very blunt tool to change society.