Operational Protocols
In the event of any disruption to the regularity of road traffic, in order to ensure safety and fluidity, Autostrada del Brennero and the Traffic Police intervene jointly, involving, where necessary, other competent bodies for the management of emergencies and rescue activities.
Such situations, which include, among others, accidents, broken-down or burning vehicles, fires, and extraordinary events such as flooding, landslides or rockfalls, are regulated by the activation of operational plans aimed at ensuring the timely intervention of personnel responsible for resolving the specific ongoing emergency, as well as the most appropriate rescue means, in order to facilitate the restoration of normal traffic conditions.From collaboration with various countries along the Munich-Verona route and with the relevant motorway operators, specific traffic management plans have been developed, which identify both the primary motorway corridors and the related alternative routes. In the event of interruption or severe disruption of the primary corridor, traffic is diverted onto pre-planned secondary itineraries, with predefined sections and routes, so as to ensure the continuity of mobility and minimize inconvenience to users.
This requires a high level of coordination among the operators involved and among the various control rooms, especially when the infrastructure spans multiple states and transnational areas.Particular attention is dedicated to tunnels, for which national regulations and European directives impose specific safety requirements. Legislative Decree 264/2006, which incorporated European Directive 2004/54/EC, establishes the rules aimed at guaranteeing a minimum level of safety for road users in the tunnels of the trans-European road network.
The legislation applies to all tunnels that are longer than 500 metres. The Brenner motorway network, which is part of the trans-European motorway network, has four tunnels along its route that meet the required length constraint. These tunnels are equipped with dedicated emergency plans that define intervention methods in the event of accidents, fires or other critical events, and which aim to ensure a minimum level of safety for users and rescue operators, providing clear procedures, defined roles and structured integration between the infrastructure operator, law enforcement, fire brigade, health services and civil protection.Specific protocols have also been developed for the coordinated management of information on events affecting the viability of the motorway sections under management, on directly connected sections and, more generally, on those affected by events whose management involves wide-ranging communication coordination.
These documents establish general guidelines and common procedures among operators with the aim of harmonising messages addressed to travellers, particularly in the event of closures of sections or junctions, impassable motorway intersections, traffic blocks, adverse weather conditions and events of particular relevance to traffic. The sharing of data and procedures among operators allows for the provision of consistent and timely information through variable message signs, digital channels and communications to the media, avoiding discordant messages and improving users' ability to plan or modify their journey.
Finally, operational protocols dedicated to civil protection activities on the motorway section under management and on the main ring roads have been defined. In these agreements, the methods of collaboration between the Regions and Provinces concerned, Prefectures, Civil Protection structures, Traffic Police and motorway operators are regulated, particularly in emergency situations or exceptionally intense traffic with risk of congestion.
These tools enable the rapid activation of the Civil Protection System and, when necessary, organized volunteering, to ensure assistance and rescue to travellers.
Taken together, these protocols and plans form an integrated approach aimed at ensuring safety, continuity of traffic flows, and the protection of road users under particularly critical conditions on the motorway network.
Particular attention is paid to tunnels and to the coordinated management of cross-border traffic with the Austrian and German operators.