Road Safety Audits were made mandatory in the UK for all Trunk Road schemes from April 1991. In 1996 a study was made to assess the benefits of the programme. The paper presents some of the findings from this evaluation study. The purpose of the investigation was to determine whether the objectives of the Safety Audit process have been achieved and to make an assessment of the quantifiable benefits that flow from the audit process. Thirty-seven audits were selected for more detailed study. The costs of implementing safety recommendations after a scheme was complete were compared with the costs of making changes at the design stage. A small subset was also selected for re-audit to look at the reliability of the audit process. Auditors and designers were interviewed to investigate their views on the audit process and its value.
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