If you put studded tires on your vehicle for the winter months, but have dragged your feet on changing them out, now’s the time to do that.

“Studded tires have to come off April 15,” said Warren-based state police. It’s not an idle warning, either. It’s part of the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code and it can end up costing you more than the price of new tires.

“Every 30 days after, the fine goes up if they don’t come off,” said the state police. According to the Vehicle Code, the fine starts at $35 on April 16. From June 1 to June 30 the fine is $45 and from July 1 through Oct. 31 the fine is $55. That doesn’t include other costs relating to citations.

The code also states that the offense is a summary offense and if the fine is not paid, the offender can be jailed for up to 30 days.

The tires in question are defined by the Vehicle Code as “tires in which ice grips or tire studs of wear resisting material have been installed which provide resiliency upon contact with the road and which have projections not exceeding two thirty-seconds of an inch beyond the tread of the traction surface of the tire shall be permitted between November 1 of each year and April 15 of the following year.”

There are some circumstances where the governor can extend the timeframe allowing studded tires based on dangerous weather conditions.

State police said the reasoning behind the rule is to help maintain roadways.

“The road heats up,” state police said. “When you have metal running along the road, if you hit your brakes and lock your tires it can tear the road up.”

Then, once winter rolls around, water fills the divots in the road, that water freezes and the road is pulled up even more.

Don’t think that it’s easy to get away with, either. The tires themselves can give you away.

“You can hear the studs go by on the road or if you come up behind someone stopped, you can see them,” said state police. “You can tell which ones have them and which ones don’t.”