Sturgeon anger as HGVS flout travel warnings
● Many jouneys ‘not unavoidable’ ● Deliveries still needed – hauliers
Nicola Sturgeon has hit out at heavy goods lorries for contributing to create logjams on Scotland’s main roads despite warnings not to travel.
The First Minister voiced concerns over footage of heavy goods vehicles (HGVS) involved in hold-ups on the trunk roads networks despite “red” weather warnings in whiteout conditions.
Scots firms were also warned not to put pressure on workers to make the journey into work during the weather carnage.
The M80 between Glasgow and Stirling saw tailbacks of up to eight miles with reports of up to 1,000 vehicles stranded for up to eight hours in freezing conditions overnight.
Labour’s Monica Lennon told MSPS at First Ministers Questions yesterday there were “hundreds of lorries”
0 Emergency vehicles attempt to pass traffic stuck on the M80 at Haggs, with many motorists stranded for hours contributing to the problem and called for the transport minister to liaise with hauliers to ensure drivers are not taking “unnecessary risks”.
Ms Sturgeon told MSPS: “I’m going to be quite blunt here. I was paying very close attention to the live cameras on the M80 yesterday afternoon and yesterday evening.
“And if I can be absolutely frank there were far more HGVS on that road than there should have been when a red warning was in place.
“I do think we have to be very clear in the message we’re sending to companies who deliver goods with HGVS, and this is not a criticism of drivers because driver safety is one of the important issues here.
“During a red weather warning, an HGV should not be on one of our trunk roads unless it is absolutely unavoidable. I saw some branded HGVS in pictures yesterday and given the branding on them I would struggle to say that their transport was unavoidable.”
But a spokesman for the Road haulage Association (RHA) said many people still required goods. “Despite the appalling weather conditions there will still be places that need to have deliveries made, such as hospitals,” she said.
“Certainly as far as Scotland is concerned there will still be areas that need food delivered to livestock. This is the worst county-wide snow that we’ve seen for years and there will be many people out there behind the wheel of cars who have never driven in such snow before and we would urge extreme caution to be taken.”
Ms Sturgeon also called on employers to be flexible in allowing staff to miss work in the extreme weather.
“Employers must make sure they’re acting in a way that prioritises the safety of their staff at all times and I hope that’s a message that goes out loudly and clearly today,” she added.