1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, a person shall not operate any motor vehicle equipped with tires which have on the periphery any block, flange, cleat, ridge, bead or any other protuberance of metal or wood which projects beyond the thread of the traction surface of the tire.

2. This section does not prohibit:

(a) Tire chains or traction devices approved by the Director.

(b) Pneumatic tires which have embedded therein wire not exceeding 0.075 inch in diameter and which are so constructed that under no conditions will the percentage of metal in contact with the roadway exceed 5 percent of the total tire area in contact with the roadway, except that during the first 1,000 miles of use, the metal in contact with the roadway may exceed 5 percent of the tire area in contact with the roadway but must not exceed 20 percent of that area.

(c) Pneumatic tires containing metal-type studs of tungsten carbide or other suitable material which are so inserted or constructed that under no conditions will the percentage of metal in contact with the roadway exceed 3 percent of the total tire area in contact with the roadway, but such tires may only be used between October 1 and April 30.

(d) Pneumatic tires containing metal-type studs of tungsten carbide or other suitable material that are retractable, in which case the tires may be used any time of the year, but the studs may only be engaged or extended between October 1 and April 30.

(e) The operation of vehicles upon unimproved roadways when necessary in the construction or repair of highways.

(f) The operation of traction engines or tractors under conditions of a permit first obtained from the Department of Transportation with respect to highways under its jurisdiction or the governing body of a city or county with respect to roads under its jurisdiction.

(Added to NRS by 1975, 176; A 1979, 858, 1806; 1989, 1050; 2007, 1135) — (Substituted in revision for NRS 484.6425)