The Road Safety Audit process

VII. Risk and other factors Different macro studies have shown that the risk of crash will increase by other factors such as poor visibility, using hand-held mobile telephones, dark conditions, wet roads and roads that are covered with snow or ice (Elvik Vaa, 2004), (Evans, 1991). There is an inverse relationship between accidents and the average gasoline prices (Hakim et al., 1991). It seems that an increase in the price of gasoline reduces the number of trips and the exposure. Similarly, there is an inverse relationship between number of accidents and the number of driving licenses delivered (Van and Wets, 2003). Moreover, the road safety audit process is shown to have a clear impact on the number of accidents (Proctor etal., 2001). However, there is lack of data concerning all these factors and they are not available in many countries. 

The Road Safety Audit process in the UK started to gather pace when safety engineers realised that they were carrying out accident remedial schemes on relatively new roads. Adopting the principle of prevention is better than cure, they decided to use some of the safety experience they had gained from the remedial work, and design safety into new road schemes. 

A number of different plans and schedules often need to be reviewed for a single highway scheme. It is imperative that all plans and other information (e.g. traffic flows, accident details, scheme brief, departures from Standard) are thoroughly examined to check for possible safety problems. Items on different plans must be checked for consistency. At later stages during the Road Safety Audit process, the Road Safety Auditor should consult reports written at previous stages of the Road Safety Audit process. These may not have been written by the same Road Safety Audit Team. 

Development-led schemes are regularly being subjected to the Road Safety Audit process. 

A European Directive currently being finalised is intended to formalise the Road Safety Audit process throughout Europe and will include training and qualifications for auditors. The Directive will mean that all member states will have to adopt, into their own legislation, methods to carry out road safety engineering work including Road Safety Audits on the Trans European Road Network. The Directive will also recommend the adoption of these methods on all other roads in the member states. 

In many countries the Road Safety Audit process is being extended to carry out Road Safety Audits on existing roads. In some of these countries the quality of accident data is poor, and reporting levels are low. The Road Safety Audit Report is therefore used as a proxy for accident data. 

The Road Safety Audit process is well established in the UK and the... 

A further qualitative benefit is the extent to which design engineers receive improved safety awareness through the Road Safety Audit process. Local authorities in the UK who have carried... 

This book has examined the Road Safety Audit process, provided extensive examples of road safety control data, and investigated the type of issues commonly raised by Road Safety Auditors. 

Recommendations in Road Safety Audit reports that go beyond standards can sometimes lead to conflict with designers. The Road Safety Audit process is discussed in Chapter 3. 

The Road Safety Audit process for schemes led by new developments has been addressed in HD 19/15. The standard states that where highway improvement schemes (as defined in the standard) are carried out on the trunk road and motorway network as part of a development scheme. Road Safety Audits will be carried out as set out in the standard. This means that suitably qualified Road Safety Audit teams should undertake the work and that the commisioning, auditing, reporting and response procedures need to be undertaken in accordance with the standard. For example, the Stage 1 Road Safety Audit process must be completed to the satisfaction of the Project Sponsor before planning consent is given. 

The final stage of the Road Safety Audit process is Stage 4. This is the stage where a completed scheme is monitored so that its safety performance can be checked. Monitoring of schemes is essential to ensure that the process is working properly and that avoidable collisions are not happening on completed schemes. Stage 4 Road Safety Audits are mandatory on trunk road and motorway schemes, and are described in HD 19/15, with an example provided in Annexes G and H. 

Following the course, the candidates have to provide examples of Road Safety Audit reports they have produced and a description of their role in the Road Safety Audit process. The reports are examined by road safety tutors at TMS Consultancy to ensure that the safety problems have been appropriately identihed and that the proposed... 

The Road Safety Audit process can also be applied to existing roads, where they will be based on collision rates, police advice and speed measurements. Major maintenance schemes (but not routine periodic maintenance) may be subject to Road Safety Audit. 

The document contains a number of mandatory aspects of the Road Safety Audit process that require an exemption from the audit to be obtained from the chent organisation if compliance is not possible. (The client organisation represents the road authority responsible for the road project to be audited.)... 

FHWA (2013b) Road Safety Audit Case Studies Using Three-dimensional Design Visualization in the Road Safety Audit Process. FHWA, Washington, DC, USA. 

The Road Safety Audit process is well established in the UK, and the illustrative report (Annex F) in the HA s Road Safety Audit standard is used by almost all Road Safety Auditors. This gives a good uniformity of Road Safety Audit reports across the UK. However, the restricted report style means that a Road Safety Audit may not be the most suitable mechanism for examining safety in all cases. For example ... 

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