This paper describes the development of safety audit procedures in the United Kingdom (UK) and its role as part of the country's national one-third casualty reduction programme. The paper also evaluates the safety audit impact on the design practices of both highway authorities and consultancies in the UK, since it became a mandatory requirement for motorway and trunk road schemes in April 1991. The paper analyses current good safety audit practice. The paper also examines some of the audit technology currently available to designers, auditors, and engineers. Current highway design practices and regulations are reviewed with illustrations to show where attention needs to be focused. The paper also considers the legal implications of safety audit. The paper discusses the importance of both experience and consistency in the practice of auditing, and the necessary report production and documentation requirements. An appraisal of safety audit's potential role as part of an organisation's quality assurance procedures and its contribution to a higher standard of local authority service provision, is also described. The paper concludes with evidence of the consequences of auditing, and of `not auditing'. The paper gives examples of international experience in safety audit practice.
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