Tracker allows drivers to check roads have been gritted

Drivers will be able to check which roads have been gritted before each journey this winter thanks to a new tracking service.

A tracking service will allow drivers to check which trunk roads have been gritted before beginning their journey. Picture: Ian Georgeson/TSPL

It will provide real time updates on where and when gritting lorries have been working across Scotland, allowing motorists to plan their routes accordingly.

The online service, operated by Transport Scotland, will go live from November 1 when the first winter road patrols begin.

There are 208 gritting trucks working across Scotland, which helped clear trunk roads on more than 11,000 occasions during the last winter.

There are 208 gritting trucks operating across Scotland. Picture: Michael Gillen/JP Resell

The tracker is one of a range of improvements to trunk road data collection that Transport Scotland believe will help individual drivers and businesses mitigate the effects of adverse winter weather.

Work is on-going upgrade equipment at 161 weather stations across the country to provide more accurate forecasts of travel conditions.

Speaking at Glasgow Science Centre, where he unveiled the new service, transport minister Humza Yousaf said: “We strive for on-going improvement in our Winter Service and this year we are at the Science Centre to demonstrate the technology that we use to try to mitigate all that the weather can throw at us, whether that be ice and snow or rain and high winds.

There are 208 gritting trucks operating across Scotland. Picture: Michael Gillen/JP Resell

“We are continuing to invest in innovative equipment, like weather stations so that we can help keep the trunk roads moving. The comprehensive network of stations that we have built up are an invaluable tool as they give us an accurate picture of what the real conditions are on the roads, even in some of the most remote locations.

“All of this information is fed into our 24/7 communications network through Traffic Scotland so that road users can make informed decisions about their trave plans and the Trunk Road Gritter Tracker will add to that service.”

The service will be available from the Transport Scotland website from November.