Scotland’s team of wittily-named gritters tackle snowy conditions

As weather warnings for snow and ice remain in place across vast parts of the UK, Scotland’s team of hilariously-named gritters are out tackling the conditions.

Since 2020, the names of the fleet of gritters covering 400 miles of Scotland’s trunk roads have been decided by the Scottish public, with popularity increasing with each year.

Available to view through the Traffic Scotland gritter tracker, this year’s team of gritters includes several hilarious cold-weather-themed names.

Highlights for this year include ‘Gritallica’, ‘Sled Zeppellin’ and ‘Skid Vicious’, as well as the James Bond-influenced ‘You Only Grit Ice’ and ‘Licence To Chill’. They follow on from previous Bond-themed gritters including ‘Coldfinger’, ‘On Her Majesty’s Slippery Surface’ and ‘Dr Snow’.

Entries from previous years also include ‘Gritney Spears’, ‘Keanu Freeze’ and ‘Sir David Attenbrrr’.

Ice warnings are currently in place across the UK, prior to a storm which is expected to bring heavy snow showers later this week. A yellow warning for snow and ice has been issued by the Met Office in northern Scotland for Wednesday, with 5-10cm of snow expected to fall in certain places.

Temperatures could fall to as low as minus 6C in rural parts of Scotland, the Met Office added. Aberdeenshire Council has declared a major incident as heavy snow continues to cause heavy disruption.

RAC breakdown spokesperson Alice Simpson said: “In these conditions, the key is allowing more time at every stage of the journey, whether that’s clearing vehicles of snow and ice before setting off or reducing the speed at which you’re travelling.

“Never be tempted to use hot water to clear a frozen windscreen which, rather than being a hack could actually lead to an expensive crack.

“Instead, leave more time before setting off and carry a decent scraper and de-icer so you can clear the windscreen quickly.

“It’s important to have plenty of screen wash that protects down to at least minus 10 degrees, ensuring you always have a clear view due to all the dirt from gritted roads.”