BEAR Scotland has denied it is to blame for a night of havoc on Tayside and Fife’s roads.
The maintenance authority said it had 11 gritters and two tractors to cover all of Courier Country’s trunk roads, as more than 20 cars skidded off the M90 and A90 on Sunday.
A BEAR spokeswoman said staff were operating at full capacity throughout the day and night.
She added: “Our dedicated winter maintenance team work 24/7 to keep the roads as clear as possible during winter conditions.
“They were out in force throughout yesterday (Sunday) and through the night and remain out this morning. When conditions are extreme it is an ongoing task.
“In the Tayside and Fife area 11 winter maintenance vehicles have been out continuously clearing snow and spreading salt supported by a further two fast-track tractors.”
BEAR has 45 vehicles used for surface treatments in the North East and a further 45 in the South East.
Sergeant Mark Hill of Tayside Police’s road policing unit said there had been 10 accidents reported on the A90 at Forfar between 5.30pm and 9.30pm on Sunday night.
Eyewitnesses driving the route claimed significantly more got into difficulties however, not all required police assistance.
Mr Hill confirmed officers had seen the BEAR gritters working throughout the day and said the organisation did a good job on the A90 “on the whole”.
He added: “Tayside Police are obviously frustrated at having to attend these accidents.”
Further incidents occurred throughout Monday as vehicles struggled to cope with the slippery conditions.
A spokeswoman for Transport Scotland said: “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.
“All 90 frontline gritters were out providing full treatments last night and this morning, with a further 40 gritters patrolling continually from 2am on Saturday morning.
“We have been in regular contact with the operating companies over the weekend and the Transport Minister has been kept fully informed throughout.”
The Courier asked for an interview with Transport Minister Keith Brown but were told he was unavailable due to constituency commitments.