Road Safety Audit Guidelines

Road Safety Audit Guidelines

CIHT

In autumn 2008 the IHT launched its new Guidelines for Road Safety Audit. Steve Proctor, Director of TMS, was commissioned to be managing editor of the document. The guidelines provide a thorough description of Road Safety Audit, and provide guidance to local highway authorities who wish to produce local procedures that differ from the national standards.

This new document has been written to help users understand a number of recent developments that affect RSA:

• The DMRB RSA Standard  HD 19/03, which has strict recommendations for the scope of RSAs, the constitution and competency of Audit Teams, for the RSA process, report writing and response to RSA
• The production of Manual for Streets (MfS) in 2007, which has implications in terms of how RSA relates to "Quality Audit", how risk assessment should be used within RSA, and how Safety Auditors should cope with relaxed design advice for visibility and signage
• Increasing issues within RSA of developments leading to a need for comparative "Safety Assessments" in addition to RSA in some cases
• Continued concern regarding legal issues in RSA following the revision of the Road Death Investigation Manual and the introduction of Corporate Manslaughter laws
• Increasing emphasis on RSA internationally, with the introduction of a European Directive on Road Safety Infrastructure Management

The Guidelines advise that all local highway authorities undertake RSA's on both internal and externally funded schemes. They recognise that there are resource issues for authorities undertaking such work. A series of recommendations are provided that guide authorities through the decisions they need to make in order to produce robust procedures that permit RSA to be carried out consistently and in line with best practice.

The Guidelines also introduce the concept of Interactive Safety Audit Checklists as an aid to the Road Safety Auditor.

TMS managed the editing process, carried out research work that informed the final document, and chaired a Steering Group of Road Safety Audit experts.