Scottish hauliers report significant disruption to services as they battle against gale force winds in the country.<\/p>\n
The Met Office<\/a> has warned that major travel disruption is likely across much of Central Scotland this afternoon due to strong winds of 75-80 miles per hour and potential gusts of up to 90mph.<\/p>\n A red warning has been issued by the Met Office for Central, Tayside, Fife, Strathclyde, south west Scotland and Lothian & Borders.<\/p>\n Transport for Scotland<\/a> warns such notices are highly unusual, with typically one or two a year, and Transport Minister Keith Brown has described the situation as \u201ca major challenge for our transport system\u201d.<\/p>\n The Road Haulage Association<\/a> has warned members in the affected areas not to use high-sided vehicles or make all but essential journeys.<\/p>\n Eddie Anderson, managing director of ARR Craib Transport,<\/a> which operates out of Aberdeen and Cumbernauld, tells CM: \u201cI haven\u2019t seen it this bad in many moons. We\u2019re only making essential journeys and have told customers that remains at the company\u2019s and our drivers\u2019 discretion.\u201d<\/p>\n Derek Mitchell, MD at Caledonian Logistics<\/a>, reports a 3.5-tonne vehicle carrying a pallet of Coca-Cola running out of the firm\u2019s Inverness depot has been turned over by the wind, with the driver okay but trapped in his cab and adds he is waiting to see how bad it gets at\u00a0 the company\u2019s Aberdeen base. \u201cWe\u2019ve already had two late trunks into Lichfield,\u201d says the Palletways member.<\/p>\n