Road safety audits are being progressively introduced as a mandatory requirement for all UK Department of Transport road construction schemes, with effect from 1 April 1991. The audits are carried out at three stages of scheme preparation: Stage 1: completion of preliminary design (order publication report stage); Stage 2: completion of detailed design (works commitment stage); and Stage 3: completion of construction (prior to opening of the scheme). In this paper the background to the introduction of road safety audits in the UK, the procedures that have been adopted for carrying out the audits are described, and the issues to be addressed in the safety audit report summarised. The respective roles of the project manager for a road scheme, the design organisation and the road safety audit team are outlined. Arrangements for monitoring safety performance of road schemes after construction are explained. The initial feedback from road safety audit reports so far received is discussed, and guidelines given for scope and contents of audit reports. Finally, there is a brief discussion of the problems of a shortage of skills in road safety engineering in the UK, and an outline given of new initiatives to improve the quality and quantity of training available, and so in the longer term increase the pool of trained road safety engineers. This abstract only is published in this seminar proceedings, and the abstract only is also published in seminar L.
Abstract