Red and white

As a commuter caught up in the recent traffic chaos on the M80, I object to the suggestion we didn’t heed the warnings.

Firstly, the upgrade to a red warning did not give us enough notice. More importantly, the earlier amber warning clearly did not get heard by the haulage industry (the main culprit in the chaos).

Most importantly, however, the chaos came after years of crying wolf by the powers that be. Too many times, I have set off for journeys covered by yellow or amber warnings only to find that they were, excuse the pun, a breeze!

MARTIN CALDOW Vale of Bonnyview, Bonnybridge

I have been singularly unimpressed at the reaction to a few inches of snow in Edinburgh.

I dug the car out this morning and went for a drive as I couldn’t get a bus – despite local bus companies having skilled staff perfectly capable of driving in these conditions. Allthemajorroadswereblack. Side roads were passable with care although no sign of any salting, even on comparatively busy ones like my own. And our local supermarket, with empty shelves reminding one of the best of Soviet-era Russia, had closed their car park rather than grabbing some unemployed or homeless folk and giving them a bung to dig out the access road.

Sadly, the skills of driving in snow and ice seem to have been lost by a modern generation – much skidding around at totally inappropriate speeds – and don’t start me

on the incompetents in the latest model cars with spinning wheels failing to do hill starts – I passed quite a few in my 1955 Austin A30 at a steady 10mph.

I know it’s different out in the rural idylls that some people insist on inhabiting – but Edinburgh city centre is affected only by the inhibitions of those who insist on listening to government baby talk red warnings instead of making their own risk assessments – assessments which are not assisted by the manifest refusal of the Met Office and broadcasters to give snowfall in feet and inches!

JOHN HEIN Montgomery Street, Edinburgh

The reason the country is at a standstill due to snow and ice is a lack of resources. It is all very well saying X number of gritters are out 24 hours but if they do not go slow enough then not enough grit is going on the road to properly do the job it is supposed to be doing.

MARGARET WALLACE Broomfield Avenue, Cumnock

Nicola Sturgeon’s somewhat stilted attack on “irresponsible” HGV drivers for the M80 motorway chaos must be seen in context. It appears if a supermarket lorry blocks the road it is acceptable but if it carries furniture, it is not. Where were the lorries to go if they wanted to stop? The motorways of Scotland have far fewer service stations than in England. Blocked roads on minor routes could be expected but the major artery roads of Scotland are a different matter. The weather is beyond SNP control but a “red alert” seems to be the government’s way of avoiding any blame . I am sure the heroic gritters did all they could under these extreme circumstances but where was the planning for just such an emergency?

Snow is not an unknown in Scotland and we have past history on motorways. The government should have contingency plans for road closures, if deemed necessary, it should not just blame a few drivers who got caught out by exceptional conditions.

The last time we saw any SNP minister resign was over the M8 motorway fiasco in

2010, albeit in worse circumstances, so could Ms Sturgeon’s outburst have more to do with protecting her current transport minister than really blaming tax-paying road users?

(DR) GERALD EDWARDS Broom Road, Glasgow