Sec. 547.612. RESTRICTIONS ON USE AND SALE OF TIRES. (a) A solid rubber tire used on a vehicle must have rubber on the traction surface that extends above the edge of the flange of the periphery.

(b) A person may not operate or move a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer that has a metal tire in contact with the roadway, unless:

(1) the vehicle is a farm wagon or farm trailer that has a gross weight of less than 5,000 pounds; and

(2) the owner is transporting farm products to market, for processing, or from farm to farm.

(c) A tire used on a moving vehicle may not have on its periphery a block, stud, flange, cleat, or spike or other protuberance of a material other than rubber that projects beyond the tread of the traction surface, unless the protuberance:

(1) does not injure the highway; or

(2) is a tire chain of reasonable proportion that is used as required for safety because of a condition that might cause the vehicle to skid.

(d) The Texas Transportation Commission and a local authority within its jurisdiction may issue a special permit that authorizes a person to operate a tractor or traction engine that has movable tracks with transverse corrugations on the periphery or a farm tractor or other farm machinery.

(e) A person commits an offense if the person offers for sale or sells a private passenger automobile tire that is regrooved. An offense under this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $500 or more than $2,000.

Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.