The temperatures outside might be plummeting, but Scotland’s fleet of cleverly-named gritter trucks are receiving a warm welcome as they hit the roads ahead of a predicted week-long spell of wintry conditions.
Gritty Gritty Bang Bang and Icetalavista Baby are back on the tarmac alongside Sled Zeppelin and I Want To Break Freeze among other punny-named trucks in Transport Scotland’s fleet.
The UK has a tradition of giving modes of transport bizarre names after a research ship was named Boaty McBoatface following a public vote in 2016.
Amey, which delivers engineering design and operational delivery services for Scotland’s South West Trunk Roads Network on behalf of Transport Scotland, launched a competition in 2020 for the public to come up with the best names for the trucks, and thousands have continued to come up with their smile-raising entries every year since.
There will be 40 gritters working around the clock ranging in size from 18-tonne, 26-tonne and 32-tonne vehicles, making them some of the largest in the UK.
Trucks out and about at the moment include Gritz Crackers, Sir Andy Flurry, Robert Brrrns, Spready Mercury and Sleeter Andre.
There’s also one called Sir Grits Hoy, in tribute to the former British cyclist, The Grittist Snowman and Snowmer Simpson.
Don’t Go Gritten My Heart will chime with fans of Elton John and Kiki Dee’s iconic duet, while youngsters may like the sound of the name Sprinklbell, in homage to Peter Pan’s fairy companion.
Scotland’s fleet of cleverly-named gritter trucks are receiving a warm welcome as they hit the roads ahead of predicted wintry conditions
The Gritter Truck map reveals where all the vehicles have been placed on Saturday
Winning names from last year that are making their debut this winter include Ploos Yer Deoos, Ready Salted, The Gritmas Chronicles, Hansel and Grit-all, Salta Claus and Oor Gritty.
Traffic Scotland has launched The Trunk Road Gritter Tracker map, which displays the current location of the trucks, for anyone interested in where they are operating.
The bright orange vehicles have also gained traction online, with Scots taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, to express their joy at seeing the gritters on the road again.
One wrote: ‘Scotland has some great gritter names this year. My fave being Penelope Gritstop.’
Another said: I do love a Gritter name. They’re hilarious.’
Such has been the popularity of the gritter-naming competition in Scotland, that Suffolk Highways decided to follow suit this year.
Winning entries included The Grit Gritsby, Gritter Thunberg, Lord Coldemort, Sweet Child O’Brine and Snowbi-Gone Kenobi.
The gritters are out force as large parts of the UK are set to be hit by heavy snow and freezing rain this weekend.
Calvin Harr-Ice can be seen back on the roads in northern Scotland as temperatures plummet
There will be 40 gritters working around the clock ranging in size from 18-tonne, 26-tonne and 32-tonne vehicles, making them some of the largest in the UK. Pictured: Gritney Spears
Gritters have been out and about on Saturday, following heavy snow fall overnight in Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Britain is bracing itself ahead of a predicted week-long spell of wintry conditions. Pictured: Aberdeen earlier this week
Two amber weather warnings have been put in place by the Met Office.
A spokesperson confirmed the temperatures reached a low of minus 8.6C in Aboyne in Aberdeenshire overnight.
Chilly conditions were expected to continue for most of Saturday, today with most places ranging from 2-5C, with highs of 7C in south-west England
The coldest temperature recorded in January last year was minus 14C, in Dalwhinnie in the Highlands.
An amber warning for snow and rare freezing rain covering most of Wales and central England, including the Midlands and the north-west cities of Liverpool and Manchester, is in place from 6pm on Saturday to midday on Sunday, the Met Office said.
The second warning for snow, covering most of northern England including Leeds, Sheffield and the Lake District, has been issued from 9pm on Saturday to midnight on Sunday.
Both of the warning areas can expect to see 3cm to 7cm of snowfall widely, while snow may mix with rain at times in lower-lying areas, the forecaster said.
Three separate yellow weather warnings for snow and ice will be in force for most areas of the UK, covering different periods of time until Monday afternoon.
National Highways warned a “spell of disruptive snow” would spread across southern and central parts of the road network on Saturday night.
