More problems for Scotland’s drivers as temperatures fall
120 gritters were out on Scotland's roads last night
SNOW and ice resulted in treacherous driving conditions on Scotland’s roads, while pedestrians faced black ice on pavements after temperatures dipped below freezing overnight.
The Scottish Government said 120 gritters had been out on motorways and trunk roads overnight.
Transport Minister Keith Brown said: “We have seen a few incidents that have caused some disruption. That is why the Multi Agency Response Team and SGoRR remain operational.
“Our operating companies have also worked through the night, with over 120 gritters out on the trunk roads and motorways to treat every route at least once.
“We are all working hard to keep Scotland moving and get back to normal where disruption does occur, particularly in the North West where conditions are the most difficult. We urge the public to continue to exercise care; plan your journey, listen to police advice and check available travel updates.”
Billy Payne, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, said: “The snow will ease off later this morning with longer spells of rain, but that will turn back into snow.
“Cold air temperatures, which will be below zero reaching around minus three and minus four degrees, means that ice is also a risk.
“There will be significant accumulations of snow over higher ground and the rest of the week will continue to be quite unsettled with wintry showers of hail, sleet and more snow.”
The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings for all parts of the country, with the heaviest snow forecast in the north and north-west regions.
Orkney and Shetland will also face gale-force winds which will become severe later today.
The M8 was closed at westbound at junction six because of a jack-knifed HGV and diesel on the road.
The junction six slip road to the westbound carriageway was also closed. Drivers were told to approach the area with caution and follow the diversions.
The A77 northbound carriageway was closed at the B7038 Kilmarnock junction because of an accident.
The westbound carriageway of the Clydeside Expressway in Glasgow was also closed.
Police said a car skidded on the ice and hit the barrier shortly after 6am.
Warnings were also issued for high winds on the Skye Bridge, icy conditions on the B833 and freezing conditions on the A83 at Tarbert.
Inverness airport was closed, but is expected to reopen later. Stornoway airport, Sumburgh airport and Kirkwall airport were also closed.
The first bout of wintry weather brought disruption to Scotland’s roads yesterday, and some schools were closed in South Lanarkshire, Dumfries and Galloway and the Highlands.
All three local authorities said their schools are expected to open as normal today.
A 43-year-old man was killed in a two-lorry smash on the M73 at the Baillieston Interchange, but it is not known if the weather had any bearing on the accident.
Motorists have been urged remain cautious on the roads and allow gritters space.
• For the latest on the roads situation, visit trafficscotland.org
• Do you have pictures of the snow in Scotland? Send them to yourpics@scotsman.com
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Weather for Edinburgh
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North east
Comments
There are 19 comments to this article
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Maurice the Dolphin
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 10:02 PM#12 Libra Personified:- "he told me that he phoned home when he was leaving work and if he wasn't home in 40 minutes the rescue services were called."....................................Excellent stuff! Now that sounds a whole lot better than sitting all night in your car in a 30 mile tail back on the the motorway freezing your a*** off while at precisely the same time a Scottish Government Transport Minister comes on TV to say the Scottish Governments plans are going well, they've just met in the "resilience room" and everyone's off the roads and tucked up in bed.
Maurice the Dolphin
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 09:57 PM#11 Good stuff. The idea was that good first time round you repeated it. One of us can grin from the cab of a gritter while the other pretends to bunk down all night in the "ops room."
Libra Personified
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 08:55 PMAnd there is a wide range of all weather tyres available to everone in the UK. Not everyone has the storage space for winter and summer tyres. ================ But back to the drivers - how many go for the budget variety? Most, I would think. Mostly useless in rain or snow.
Libra Personified
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 08:45 PM14, Tartancult. I would suggest to you that the main difference between Scotland and Canada, apart from the severity of the winter weather, is that the Canadians don't start making it a political issue at the first sign of snow. And I agree with dgg@13 - erschloch drivers are more to blame than any politician or road clearing organisation in Scotland every winter.
Libra Personified
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 08:41 PMScotsman. Please get rid of www4. smartadserver. It is jamming up the network. If you must use tracking cookies, then use quick ones.
Tartancult
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 08:24 PMThe difference appaers to be, Libra, that while Scotland is amazed every time it snows in the winter, Canadians deal with it. Canadians haven't perfected snow removal but at least they get on with the job.
dgg
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 08:06 PMI'm probably mistaken, but once Canada dips below zero, large parts of the country remain that way for two or three months. A bit like the Alps in Europe. Whereas on the other hand in the UK we get sub-zero conditions typically for a few days after which the snow melts. The last couple of years have been untypical and it remains to be seen whether they form an ongoing trend. The point being that in the Alps and Canada (and the States and other places) Winter tyres make sense and are compulsory, and they use a variety of chemicals as an alternative to the saltgrit we use. They can be efficient because their weather is more systemic; ours is more chaotic. Here we have drivers who are inexperienced in such conditions. Most of the problems are caused by us the drivers, and it's unrealistic to expect council gritters to provide clear roads the instant after a snowdump.
Libra Personified
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 06:14 PMI dare say the Canadians have got there act together now but the last time I saw my cousin (he still lives in Canada) he told me that he phoned home when he was leaving work and if he wasn't home in 40 minutes the rescue services were called. That sounds like a very efficient Canadian winter roads programme.
Libra Personified
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 06:10 PMWhy don't we just get judgedredd777 and Maurice the Dolphin to liaise with the Canadians and then act as paid advisers to Keith Brown,Why don't we just get judgedredd777 and Maurice the Dolphin to liaise with the Canadians and then act as paid advisers to Keith Brown?
Tartancult
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 05:58 PM#3 see how Ontario handles Snow and Ice on our roads"....Didn't they call in the army a few years back?...Bunch of softies.
Maurice the Dolphin
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 04:11 PM#7 Keith Browns not driving the gritter! lol It's a classic Scottish Government photo op. sitting grinning in the cab of a gritter with a wee yellow jacket on.
Maurice the Dolphin
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 04:10 PM#7 He told us the other evening that the "resilience room" had been opened for business so I suppose it's only a matter of time before we see him sitting grinning like a cheshire cat in the cab of a gritter again this year. Talking about Transport minister's, wonder if Stewart Stevenson's still getting his wee bit outside his home gritted? After all, the gritter activity around a certain bit in Clackmannanshire seems to have been upped.
judgedredd777
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 03:11 PM#5 Maurice the Dolphin................Keith Brown couldn`t drive a nail into a piece of wood far less drive a gritter. He hasn`t read "The idiots Guide to Winter Maintenance" yet because it ain`t on Amazon Kindle. Duuuuh. Nor is there a brail version.
judgedredd777
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 03:07 PM#3 Ted & Janet Back in 1995 I trialed the Pre Wetted Salt and Brine system at a local authority in central Scotland and the outcome was less than favorable than dry rock salt applied by calibrated gritters operated by very experienced gritter crews who were trained to SVQ level2. I have seen Bear and Amy the Transport Scotland operating companies using gritters with the pre wetting system on board and this could be a negative issue in the removal of snow presently, and over the last two years. What I have also noticed is that most trunk road gritters are running about gritting with their plough`s up and therefore not reducing the depth of the snow layer prior to the dispatch of the salt at the rear of the gritter. The rest is history, the road users that follow this gritting operation then break up and mix the salt so that the second run of the gritters with their plough`s down then remove more of the snow layer and renew the salt into what is left and so on until the road runs black in the Winter maintenance trade. So a jollie junket from the mupets who manage the winter maintenance in Scotland would be a waste of resource on what is already badly managed and supervised at present.
Maurice the Dolphin
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 02:57 PMCalm down and carry on people of Scotland! The weather can't be that bad yet - Keith Brown hasn't been photographed posing in the cab of a gritter yet!
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