Road Safety Audits (RSAs) are an effective tool for proactively improving the future safety performance of a road project during the planning and design stages and for identifying safety issues in existing transportation facilities. To demonstrate the effectiveness of RSAs, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Safety sponsored an evaluation of RSAs at the program and project levels. The aim of these evaluations is to provide State, local, Federal, and Tribal agencies with examples of RSA programs and quantifiable results from specific RSA projects that can help in implementing RSAs and further their growth and success. Six jurisdictions were reviewed for their unique ability to sustain an RSA program at the State, regional, or local level. Key strategies underpinning the success of these RSA programs are described in this document. At the project level, five RSAs were evaluated to quantify the safety benefit of specific improvements that were implemented as a result of the RSAs. Statistical analyses were conducted using observational before?after methods. Costs of conducting the RSA and of implementing countermeasures are also presented and used in conjunction with the before?after analysis to determine the benefit/cost (B/C) ratio of each project. (Author/publisher)
Abstract