Traffic Scotland is launching a tracker system to enable the public to discover where and when gritters have been active on routes in their areas.
The technology goes live at the beginning of November when the Winter patrols get underway and has been showcased at the Science Centre in Glasgow.
Scotland’s transport minister Humza Yousaf said: “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 travel plans and the Trunk Road Gritter Tracker will add to that service.
“While the storms of the last year were high profile, our teams also continued to battle more traditional winter conditions and we have to prepare for that too. Last year we cleared the trunk roads of ice and snow 11,000 times so we have maintained our salt stocks and we have more winter plant available than ever before, with 208 gritters at our disposal.”
Transport Scotland is working with the Met Office and Police Scotland to mitigate disruption form the weather and a Met Office advisor is working at the Traffic National Control Centre at Queensferry.
Head of Government Services at the Met Office, Philip Evans said: “By continuing to pool our expertise we can ensure that the Scottish public are well informed and able to prepare for any severe weather that may occur over the winter months.”
Police Scotland is also setting up a special section on its website where useful information will be posted, alongside a link to a short video on YouTube which shows drivers how to carry out basic vehicle safety checks.
