As the winter rolls in, it’s time to keep an eye out for the country’s gritter lorries that come out in force to stop roads becoming icy death-traps. Last year, councils all across the country had fun naming their gritters and some of the outcomes were side-splittingly hilarious. The comical names were started in Scotland with the likes of Sir Andy Flurry, Grittie McVittie and Gritty Gritty Bang Bang making an appearance. The joke quickly spread to the rest of the UK and now councils all across the UK have been naming their gritter lorries.
Traffic Scotland even produced a map last year showing the location of the lorries along with their funny names in real-time. So you could track Luke Snowalker on his travels and even follow Sir Salter Scott on his expeditions across the Highlands.
According to BEAR Scotland, a company that operates around 100 gritters in the North East and North West of Scotland, the company asked school children a few years ago to name some of their 32-tonne gritters. The responses were so amusing that the tradition took hold and the rest is history.
Competition time
Last year Doncaster carried out a naming competition live on Twitter to name two lorries that would join both Usain Salt and Brad Grit on the council’s fleet. In the end, David Plowie and Gritsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Anti-Slip Machiney were chosen ahead of rivals such as Spready Mercury.
Harsh winter
According to long-range weather reports, you might get used to seeing these gritters on the roads. The Daily Express reported in September https://www.express.co.uk/news/weather/1021047/UK-weather-long-range-forecast-Britain-heavy-snow-cold-winter-2018-Met-Office that the UK is in for one of the harshest winters on record.
Arctic downpours could arrive as soon as November, so companies should make sure they have the contact number of gritting companies at hand in the case of emergencies. Gloucestershire car park gritting companies such as http://www.contract-gritting.co.uk/ are a good option if you need snow moved at short notice.
This year, councils have continued with the naming tradition of their gritters. Essex continues to name its snow lorries with the help of school children and has come up with the likes of Gritney Spears and Alexander the Grit, to name just a few. Meanwhile, up in Yorkshire, you’re likely to meet Gritney Houston, Spreaddie Flintoff and William Wilberfrost on your travels.