DRIVERS have been urged to take extra care on the roads after heavy snow and ice led to rush hour chaos and claims that councils were ill-prepared for the wintry weather.
The warning comes after a number of accidents and lengthy tailbacks in the Monday morning rush.
Lothian and Lanarkshire were among the worst affected by several inches of snow, with some areas seeing delays of up to an hour on the roads.
In South Lanarkshire, the M74 motorway was closed off in both directions due to accidents, including one involving a lorry driver who had to be cut from his vehicle and airlifted to hospital.
The lorry collided with two other heavy goods vehicles between junctions 12 and 13, north of Abington services, at about 7.50am, and was left lying on its side across all three lanes of the northbound carriageway.
The AA said it attended in the region of 1800 breakdowns in Scotland yesterday, compared to 1200 on a normal Monday.
Transport Scotland said the disruption was worse than it had anticipated for the level of snow.
A spokesman said: "Transport Scotland recognises the disruption many road users encountered and sympathises with them.
"Following Met office warnings for snow across the country, we issued travel alerts on a number of channels including Twitter; radio; web and our variable message signs. The sporadic heavy snowfall combined with morning peak traffic volumes, a number of incidents and breakdowns at critical locations has caused more delays than we would normally anticipate for this type of weather event."
He added that with further severe weather warnings in place, drivers should plan their journeys and take extra precautions on the roads today.
Many drivers vented their frustration online.
Wendy Paterson demanded via Twitter: "Where are the gritters in Edinburgh this morning?"
While Helen McCombs tweeted: "@Edinburgh_CC You grit the roads when temp didn't drop below 2 degrees .. but this morning!! Not like the snow wasn't forecast."
Transport Scotland said 90 frontline gritters had been out on the roads on Sunday night and Monday morning, while a further 40 had been out continually since 2am on Saturday.
A South Lanarkshire Council spokesman said: "Twenty four gritting crews were out all night across South Lanarkshire, dealing with frequent snow showers which were much heavier than forecast." The council – which had to close 20 schools and nurseries due to the weather – added that further snow was expected overnight.
North Lanarkshire Council, Edinburgh City Council and Midlothian Council, all said gritters had been out regularly over the weekend and yesterday morning.
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