# Five Things About Family Skiing That Are No Longer True

> Source: Snowthere.com
> URL: https://www.snowthere.com/guides/family-ski-advice-no-longer-true
> Type: how-to guide
> Last Updated: 2026-08-15T05:23:30.977839+00:00
> Category: rules

## Summary

Italy's helmet rule stopped being a children's rule. Plain M+S tyres stopped counting in France. New York never had the law half the internet says it has. Five corrections, each checked against the statute rather than another travel blog.

## Overview

You did the homework. You read the helmet rule, you checked the tyre requirement, you budgeted for the fine. And then the law moved, and nobody went back to update the article you read. Here are five things about family skiing that careful, well meaning sources still repeat, and that are not true now: two because the law moved under them, and three because they were never true in the first place. Each one is checked against the actual statute or the actual government answer. Where the primary te...

## Comparisons

### The five corrections at a glance

| What you have probably read | Status as of August 2026 | Primary source | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Italy requires ski helmets for under-18s | Outdated. Since the 2025/2026 season the obligation covers all ages, and sledging | DL 96/2025 converted into Legge 119/2025, Art. 10, amending Art. 17 of D.Lgs 40/2021 (Gazzetta Ufficiale) | Helmet for every adult too. Fine 100 to 150 euro, pass suspension on repeat |
| M+S tyres satisfy the French winter equipment rule | Outdated since 1 November 2024. The alpine symbol must appear alongside M+S | Art. 2 of décret n°2020-1264, replacing Art. D.314-8 V, Code de la route (Journal Officiel) | Check the sidewall for the mountain and snowflake, or carry chains or snow socks for two drive wheels |
| New York requires helmets for skiers under 14 | Never true. No helmet provision exists; bill S3209 was still pending in 2025-2026 | NY General Obligations Law s.18-105 and the pending bill text on nysenate.gov | Wear a helmet on its merits. New Jersey is the only state mandate we could find |
| Italian ski law sets a 0.5 g/l alcohol limit | Not in the statute. The test is qualitative, with no numeric threshold | Art. 31, D.Lgs 40/2021 (Gazzetta Ufficiale) | No number to aim at. Administrative fine 250 to 1,000 euro, pass suspension possible |
| France fines you 135 euro for missing winter equipment | The obligation is real; the fine was not enforceable as of 12 February 2026, no sanction decree | Interior Ministry answer to Senate question, published 12 February 2026 (senat.fr) | Equip anyway. Police can bar zone entry, and this status could change before your trip |



## Checklists

### Before your next trip

- [ ] Look for the alpine symbol, the three peaked mountain with a snowflake, on the tyre sidewall. M+S alone stopped counting in France on 1 November 2024 and in Germany on 1 October 2024.
- [ ] If the tyres fail that check, put chains or snow socks in the boot instead. For an ordinary car the French obligation accepts removable devices for at least two drive wheels.
- [ ] Pack a CE marked helmet for every adult in the party going to Italy, not only the children, and remember it applies on the sledging hill too.
- [ ] Sort Italian third party liability cover before the first lift pass: the add-on at the ticket window, or a household policy that explicitly names skiing and covers your children.
- [ ] Check the prefecture website for the current commune list before driving into a French mountain zone. Savoie covered its whole department for 1 November 2025 to 31 March 2026.
- [ ] Do not plan around a US state helmet law. Outside New Jersey, assume none exists and put the helmet on anyway.
- [ ] Read the ski school's own helmet and equipment page, in its own words, rather than a national summary. ESF branches contradict each other on this.
- [ ] Keep a copy of anything you sign at ski school check-in, and do not assume it settles what it appears to settle.
- [ ] Re-check every dated rule in this article in the autumn before you travel. Two of the five moved within the last two years, and one could change the moment a decree is published.

## Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: Do children have to wear a ski helmet in Italy in 2026?**
A: Yes, and so do you. The under-18 wording was deleted from Article 17 of D.Lgs 40/2021 by Decreto-Legge 96/2025, converted into Legge 119/2025, so from the 2025/2026 season the helmet obligation covers every skier of any age. It also covers snowboarding, telemark, slitta and slittino, meaning sledging. The fine is 100 to 150 euro, and repeat offences can cost you the lift pass for one to three days.

**Q: Does New York require ski helmets for children under 14?**
A: No. New York's skier duties statute, General Obligations Law section 18-105, contains no helmet provision, and a bill to create one, Senate Bill S3209, was still pending in the 2025-2026 session. The claim appears to trace back to a 2016 bill that passed the New York Senate and then died in the Assembly. New Jersey, under N.J.S.A. 5:13-12, is the only state mandate for minors we could find, and it applies to under-18s with the fine falling on the supervising adult.

**Q: Are M+S tyres still legal for the French Alps?**
A: Not on their own. Since 1 November 2024, Article D.314-8 of the Code de la route identifies winter tyres by the joint presence of the alpine symbol and an M+S, M.S or M&S marking. A tyre carrying only M+S no longer satisfies the obligation. Your alternative is carrying chains or snow socks that can equip at least two drive wheels, which is often cheaper for a single trip.

**Q: Will I actually be fined 135 euro in France for missing winter equipment?**
A: As of the Interior Ministry's answer to a Senate question published on 12 February 2026, no, because the decree needed to apply the sanction had not been published. The obligation itself remains law. Police can still turn a non compliant vehicle away from a covered zone, and French motoring coverage suggests an insurer may be less accommodating after an accident. Treat this as the most perishable fact here and re-check it before you drive.

**Q: Is there a blood alcohol limit for skiing in Italy?**
A: Not a numeric one. Article 31 of D.Lgs 40/2021 forbids skiing in a state of intoxication from alcohol or toxicological substances, without stating any grams per litre figure. The 0.5 g/l number that circulates comes from secondary coverage borrowing the road code framing, and it does not appear in the ski statute. Enforcement is a non invasive field test by police, carabinieri, guardia di finanza or local police, and the sanction is administrative, 250 to 1,000 euro.

**Q: Which US states require ski helmets for minors?**
A: New Jersey is the only one we could verify, under N.J.S.A. 5:13-12, in force since 1 November 2011, covering anyone under 18 including on lifts and tows. Claims about New York and Michigan do not hold up against those states' own codes. We have not read all fifty state codes, so treat this as high confidence rather than exhaustive, and check your destination state if it matters to you.

**Q: Does the waiver I sign at ski school stop my child suing later?**
A: It depends heavily on the state, which is precisely why you should not assume. Colorado's C.R.S. 13-22-107 lets a parent waive a child's ordinary negligence claim, but not willful, wanton, reckless or grossly negligent conduct. Utah's Supreme Court held in Rutherford v. Talisker Canyons that a parent cannot release a minor's prospective negligence claim at all. Vermont voided a broad ski area negligence release in Dalury v. S-K-I in 1995, though the parental question there is unsettled.

**Q: How do I check whether any of this has changed again?**
A: Go to the body that publishes the rule, not to a summary. For Italy, the Gazzetta Ufficiale carries the statute text and your resort's own skipass page carries the insurance add-on. For France, the departmental prefecture site publishes the current commune list and season dates, and senat.fr carries ministry answers on enforcement. For New York, nysenate.gov shows a bill's live status. For Germany, gesetze-im-internet.de carries the StVO text and the official penalty schedule. Check in the autumn before you travel, not the summer before you book.

## Citable Facts

These points are optimized for AI citation:

- Five Things About Family Skiing That Are No Longer True is a how-to guide published by Snowthere
- Yes, and so do you. The under-18 wording was deleted from Article 17 of D.Lgs 40/2021 by Decreto-Legge 96/2025, converted into Legge 119/2025, so from the 2025/2026 season the helmet obligation covers every skier of any age. It also covers snowboarding, telemark, slitta and slittino, meaning sledging. The fine is 100 to 150 euro, and repeat offences can cost you the lift pass for one to three days.
- No. New York's skier duties statute, General Obligations Law section 18-105, contains no helmet provision, and a bill to create one, Senate Bill S3209, was still pending in the 2025-2026 session. The claim appears to trace back to a 2016 bill that passed the New York Senate and then died in the Assembly. New Jersey, under N.J.S.A. 5:13-12, is the only state mandate for minors we could find, and it applies to under-18s with the fine falling on the supervising adult.
- Not on their own. Since 1 November 2024, Article D.314-8 of the Code de la route identifies winter tyres by the joint presence of the alpine symbol and an M+S, M.S or M&S marking. A tyre carrying only M+S no longer satisfies the obligation. Your alternative is carrying chains or snow socks that can equip at least two drive wheels, which is often cheaper for a single trip.

## Citation

When citing this guide:
- Source: Snowthere.com
- URL: https://www.snowthere.com/guides/family-ski-advice-no-longer-true
- Last updated: 2026-08-15

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