NEIGHBOUR checking on neighbour. Young and not so young clearing pavements. Pedestrians giving stranded motorists a push. Staff battling their way into work so others could collect a prescription or buy milk and bread.

From east to west, in the red alert zone and the amber, there was in Scotland yesterday a cast-iron, rust-proof, determination to make the best of a bad weather situation. Beast from the East? Gie’s peace. It is Scotland. It is snowing. We can take it.

Yes, the best of Scotland was on show yesterday, but there was something else, something the country can do without, whatever the season. That something was complacency, an acceptance that what was being done by national and local government, transport and other authorities, is the best we can expect. It is not.

Scotland and the rest of the UK were well warned about the dreadful weather that was about to descend. The forecasters got everything correct, right down to the hour the heavy snowfall began.

As luck and the environment would have it, Scotland had a dress rehearsal in coping with what was coming our way. It was only recently, in January, that parts of the country were last blanketed in snow. Drivers stranded on motorways, jack-knifed lorries exacerbating difficulties on the roads, schools closed, parents inconvenienced, public transport in chaos, firms big and small paying a price for the disruption.

It was clear then that there was work to be done in making Scotland more resilient in the face of winter weather. Yet as we can see from the way a huge swathe of the country came to a standstill this week, the lessons are still not being learned.

We are well aware that the weather of the last few days has been extreme, and that the sheer volume and persistence of the snowfall has brought its own particular challenges. But if a country’s preparedness plan cannot cope with the worst of winter weather, of what use is it?

Countries where the winter weather is far more extreme manage to keep going without too much trouble. The likes of Canada and Norway have made substantial investment in bad weather resilience. If the Scottish Government believes money could be spent better on other things, it should consider for a moment the amount lost to the economy as a result of staff being unable to travel to work and deliveries not getting through. Consider, too, how badly Scotland needs to increase growth and productivity. Consider, most of all, the cost of doing nothing. Scotland cannot afford to lose out on business for one afternoon, never mind one day or, as it is now proving to be, several.

The Scottish Government and others charged with clearing roads have said they were unable to do so in many instances due to abandoned or stranded cars blocking the way. Once again, motorists were advised not to drive, and when the red alert system came into force they were told to stay off the roads. More people seem to have taken advice this time, but not enough. What can be done to get the message through to all?

As for allowing heavy goods vehicles on motorways during such weather, when are we going to learn, in common with some of our continental cousins, that this is asking for trouble and it is better if HGVs are redirected to a lorry park till the worst is over?

Holyrood closed early yesterday due to the bad weather. We understand that, in common with other workplaces, the safety of MSPs and their staff takes priority. But after the closure and suspension of so many other institutions and services in the past few days, the Scottish Parliament shutting up shop came across as the final raising of the white flag in the face of the weather.

Scotland can and must do better than this.