An industry view on road safety auditing

This paper provides an industry perspective on road safety auditing (RSA). In particular, it addresses aspects such as:
·         Having the right team. A team that has been assembled to provide a balanced and complementary blend of road safety, transport planning, traffic engineering, design, construction, consultation and project management skills and experience.
·         Liaising with the client via meetings at the start, during and close of the audit phases, and determining what needs to be achieved from these meetings.
·         Considering different road user groups and their perspectives as well as the different vehicle types using the road (e.g. mix of heavy vehicles and cyclists on roads).
·         Managing expectations, such as ensuring that the audit team is not being influenced by any preconceived views of different stakeholders (e.g. community or the client).
·         Introducing methodologies into the audit process to save time and effort and add value to the outcome.
The paper provides a critique on the standard road safety audit tasks and offers constructive comments. The insight into road safety auditing provided by this paper is applicable to both existing and future projects and at all stages of the project delivery such as planning, design and delivery. The views expressed arise from consulting industry experience in undertaking road safety audits for public and private sector clients.