The Electra 100% Electric Gritter: SEIV 19 – 350 is thought to be the first vehicle of its kind in the world and will be trialled on the Forth Bridges Unit, undertaking winter patrols on the two crossings.

As well as the fleet of emergency response vehicles, a record high of 213 gritters will be located at over 40 depots across the country. Specialist route-specific snow plans have been produced, in conjunction with road operators and Police Scotland, for the M8, M74, M77 and M80, following the significant snow events of recent years.

Salt barns are full and currently hold almost 550,000 tonnes, which is more salt than was used during the whole of last winter. The gritter tracker is once again up and running, letting people see live movement of gritters on the trunk road network and a trail with an age range for where gritters have previously passed along trunk routes.

Cabinet secretary for transport, infrastructure and connectivity, Michael Matheson, said: “Our teams have worked hard throughout the year to ensure we are ready when difficult winter conditions set in. We can’t prevent the weather, but we can make sure we’re as well prepared as possible.

“While last winter was relatively benign, particularly in comparison to the year before, we have still learned lessons from that period. Improvements have been put in place to ensure we are as well-prepared as we can be, and we are trialling some innovative new technology to see if we can make our fleet more environmentally friendly.”