South Dakota Tire Regulations

The South Dakota DOT has the authority to restrict travel on roads. Signs will alert you to these restrictions. Tire chains or “sufficient traction devices” are allowed. You don’t have to wait for the signs to tell you to put on your chains. Chains are also permitted if conditions tending to cause a skid are present.

32-19-13. Operation with cut or worn tire as misdemeanor–Minimum tread. No person may operate on the public highways of this state a licensed motor vehicle which has a mounted tire having a cut into the fabric, or worn so that the fabric is visible, having knots or bulges in the sidewall or tread, or having a minimum tread depth less than two thirty-seconds of an inch on any two adjacent tread grooves. In addition, the tires mounted on the front axle of a motor vehicle of ten passenger or more capacity or exceeding a gross weight of twenty-six thousand pounds shall have a minimum tread depth of not less than three thirty-seconds of an inch on any two adjacent tread grooves. A violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor.

Source: http://sdlegislature.gov/statutes/Codified_laws/DisplayStatute.aspx?Statute=ch%20220,%20%C2%A7%201&Type=StatuteChapter