Brian Kenny of the Road Haulage Association said First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was right to say people should not be on the roads unless it was absolutely necessary.

But he told BBC Radio Scotland’s Newsdrive: “With the greatest respect she has missed the point here.

“Most of these HGVs were trying to get back to a safe haven."

He said the first incident involving a HGV on the M80 happened about 11:30 on Wednesday and left other trucks stranded for nearly five hours.

Their attempts to reach safe places were then hampered, according to Mr Kenny, when it was announced a red warning would take effect from 15:00.

He added: “That put far more vehicles on the network than it could handle.

“I think the best intentions there were pretty much a victim of their own success.”

Asked if the HGVs should be better at getting to a safe place, Mr Kenny replied: “That’s a fantastic question.

“I would ask you where would you like them to go?

“There is no truck parking in Scotland. Most of the services that we have in Scotland couldn’t take that amount of trucks."