January 16, 2024.- The Government delegate in Castilla y León, Nicanor Sen, held on Tuesday a working meeting with the members of the Coordination Committee of the Winter Road Plan with the aim of knowing at first hand the operation of the protocol of action in the event of snowfall and other extreme weather situations that may affect the network of state roads in the Community.
A meeting attended by the regional coordinator of the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT), Inmaculada Matías; the lieutenant colonel head of the sector of the Traffic Group of the Civil Guard (ATGC) of Castilla y León, Francisco Iturralde; the Head of the Civil Protection Unit of the Delegation of the Government in Castilla y León, Rubén Sande; the territorial delegate of the Aemet, Manuel Mora, and the regional leaders of the Demarcation of Roads Western and José Vidal, respectively.
One by one, he has detailed what his responsibilities are, as well as the actions carried out by each of the agencies, such as the mobilization of troops, the color codes or the coordination with the other entities carried out by DGT in the face of possible restrictions or vehicle pockets.
For its part, the Aemet has explained the warnings available in the 24 meteorological prediction zones deployed in Castilla y León, as well as the close coordination that exists with Civil Protection when issuing warnings.
Of particular importance is the issuance of early warnings days before an important snow event occurs, which allows Civil Protection to initiate coordination with all the actors involved at the regional level and activate the human and material resources that are expected to be necessary.
At this point, it was also recalled that since 2020 there is a specific protocol that the Delegation of the Government of Castilla y León signed with the Junta de Castilla y León in the case of pocketing or people retained on the roads and that was implemented in conjunction with Filomena, demonstrating its effectiveness.
A protocol that, as it was put on the table during the meeting, has become one more tool so that all the agencies that work providing service to users who circulate on the roads of Castilla y León can be attended in extreme cases before major events.
A teamwork, recalled Sen, which seeks as a last objective to ensure an effective response and preserve the safety of drivers who transit through the state roads of Castilla y León in winter times.
Therefore, the government delegate in Castilla y León urged the heads of the different agencies to study any possible improvements that can be carried out in this protocol. “It is a protocol with a lot of experience, a lot of work and that has shown its effectiveness, but whenever there is a point where it can be improved we must work on it to give a more effective response from the Government,” concluded Sen.