Angry motorists ask authorities: why wasn’t more done?

Drivers have vented their fury at transport chiefs amid claims that a lack of preparation brought snowy gridlock to the roads.

Irate motorists were forced to abandon hundreds of cars after highways became impassable due to treacherous snow and ice.

A lack of gritting has been blamed for the chaos with

drivers calling on councils and government transport bosses to up their game as Britain braces for a fresh week of freezing temperatures.

Forecasters have warned the Arctic blast is set to plunge the UK into a -15C deep freeze.

Edmund King, of motoring group AA, said there have been hundreds of accidents linked to the weather and said breakdown staff had been “incredibly busy”.

He said: “We’ve had special operation patrols out because of the conditions.

“They are saying many of the roads are treacherous. Main roads are slightly better but it’s the roads linking to them where there have been problems.

“On some highways, we’ve had reports that grit has not been that effective.

“We don’t know if not enough has been put down or if they didn’t get out early enough.

“It’s a reminder to highway authorities to get out and deal with it early.”

Sections of Scotland’s motorway network ground to a halt on Friday night as heavy snow and football traffic combined to cause chaos.

Busy roads became worse when fans headed home after Rangers’ match against Hearts at Ibrox was abandoned.

Labour peer Lord George Foulkes wrote on Twitter: “Hearts supporters asking why the M8 was not cleared of snow and why the Scottish Transport Minister is not explaining or apologising.”

For many, the situation did not appear to have improved yesterday.

Many complained of treacherous conditions with drivers tackling ice, snow and flooding caused by meltwater.

One taxi driver said the M80 near Cumbernauld was affected by “lots of surface water” that was “deep in places” while roads around Glasgow Airport were hit by “lots of snow”.

One woman contacted Glasgow City Council on Twitter after it stated that gritters would be out on Saturday to say: “So you found the gritters. Were they mislaid yesterday and last night?”

BBC presenter Theresa Talbot also asked: “Why are the roads in Glasgow’s west end so treacherous? Where are the gritters?”

The situation was equally challenging for people in England, with as much as six inches of snow in parts of Cumbria and the Lake District yesterday morning.

The Chilterns, Cotswolds and the Pennines were hit by snow flurries with gritters sent out.

The freezing temperatures also posed a deadly risk to older people with charity Age UK warning the Arctic winds could kill one person every seven minutes.

Sally Webb, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, said more misery was on its way.

She said: “This week will see temperatures that are colder than the seasonal average.

“Large parts of the UK will be 5C lower than the average at this time of year.

“This week should be more settled in Scotland in terms of wind.

“However, with a colder air mass across us and northerly wind, there’s a chance of more snow.”

Transport Minister Derek Mackay maintains there is enough salt in stock for gritters and said teams are monitoring conditions 24/7 to get the fleet to where it’s needed.

More than 150 gritters are said to be tackling the situation across Scotland.

A Transport Scotland spokesman said police warned motorists about conditions in the south-west of Scotland on Friday night and added they’d asked gritting contractors Scotland Transerve to review their procedures to establish why there were issues in this area.

He added that teams had worked tirelessly to overcome the challenging conditions.