As frosty conditions grip the nation, Scotland's fleet of gritter trucks will take to the roads - bringing with them their hilarious names. 

Scotland's grit trucks have gained international attention in recent years due to their names which have been voted for by the public. 

Even America has taken notice - the Scottish trucks have provided inspiration for American road authoraties to launch their own naming contests. 

Hardcore fans can track Scotland's gritter fleet on the Traffic Scotland website, showing which roads the gritter trucks have already visited. 

As the temperature drops and frost appears, here are the Scottish grit trucks to look out for and everything you need to know about when you can expect gritters on the roads...

What are the Scottish gritter trucks called?

There are 235 gritting lorries which operate across Scotland’s trunk roads; here are some of their hilarious names:

Amber Snowy
Arctic Angel
BFG Big Friendly Gritter
Blizzard Bear
Chilly Connolly
Darth Spreader

David Plowie
For Your Ice Only
Fred
Gangsta Granny Gritter
Grit A Bit
Grit Expectations
Gritallica

Gritney Spears
Gritter Bug
Grittest Hits
Grittie McVittie
Grittle Mix
Gritty Gonzales
Gritty Gritty Bang Bang
Han Snow-lo
I Want To Break Freeze
Ice Breaker
Ice Destroyer
Ice Queen
Jeremy Brine
Lew-Ice Capaldi
Licence To Chill
Luke Snowalker

Meltin' John
Mr Plow
Mrs Gritter
My Name’5 Doddie
Nitty McGritty

Penelope Gritstop
Plougher O’Scotland
Polar Bear Explorer
Polar Patroller
Ready Spready Go
Rumble
Salty
Sandy The Solway Salter
Scotland’s Bravest Gritter
Sir Andy Flurry
Sir Grits A Lot
Sir Salter Scott
Slippy McGritty
Snow Bother
Snow Destroyer
Snow Dozer

Snow Trooper
Snowball
Snowbegone Kenobi
Snowkemon Go
Sophie Salt

Spready Mercury
Sprinkebell
Sprinkles
The Golden Great Gritter
The Grittest Snowman
The Incredible Ice Bear
The Snow Buster
The Snow Solution
The Winter Explorer
True Gritter
Yes Sir Ice Can Boogie

How do they decide when to grit the roads?

Gritters take to the roads when the temperature falls below 1 degree Celsius. 

Monitoring stations around the country monitor and record the ground temperature. 

Meanwhile, daily weather reports are also used to predict the ground temperature and the dew point. 

The dew point is when the air becomes too cold to hold moisture.

When this point is reached and the ground temperature cools, it is likely ice will form on the ground. 

You can see where they plan to grit the roads today here. 

Is grit salt always effective? 

No - when the temperature drops below -5 degrees the salt becomes ineffective. 

If the weather is wet, the salt also becomes ineffective because it gets washed away. 

What time are gritters usually active?

Gritters are usually out the night before the temperature is due to dip below freezing, between 7pm and 4am. 

However, if snow is due to fall the gritters will try to get out in time to prepare the roads, so you may see them during the day depending on what time snow is forecast.