Safey Audits. E xplanation of Audits and the Requirements at each Stage of the Audit Process

CEDR SG Road Safety Meeting April 6th 2005

Safey Audits.Explanation of Audits and the Requirements at each Stage of the Audit Process.

Presented by Harry CullenSenior Project Manager, Road Safety & Research,

NRA

Prepared by Stephen Lambert & Lucy Curtis, Regional Road Safety Engineers,National Roads Authority, Ireland


Introduction

• What is a Safety Audit• Requirements & Guidelines• At what stages are they done• What to look for • Who should do them• Cost


What is a Road Safety Audit?

• Process for checking the safety of new schemes on roads– Systematic– Based on safety principles – experience /

research– Ensures that new schemes will not become

the accident sites of the future.– Looks at schemes from ALL road users’

point of view


About Safety Audits

• Road Safety Audits– Identifies potential safety hazards within a

scheme and formulates recommendations for dealing with the identified hazards.

– Applies the experience gained from accident remedial work to prevent future accidents.

– Not there to stop developments, there to make developments safer.

– Not a check of compliance with design standards.


Road Safety Audit is not

• An opportunity to redesign the scheme• A technical check• A design standards check


Requirements & Guidelines

• The Design Manual for Roads & Bridges (DMRB) produced by the National Roads Authority, contains the following standards for Road Safety Audits:

– 2001- NRA DMRB HD 19/01

– NRA DMRB HA 42/01


DMRB

Design Manual for Roads & Bridges

• It is the Irish Standard for National Roads

• It has specific Requirements as to when and how Safety Audits should be carried out.


WHEN!

• Road Scheme :- all work that involves a permanent change to the existing road layout.

• The standard defines the relevant road schemes which are to have a Safety Audit:-– All National Road schemes currently being prepared.– All work carried out under agreement with the NRA

resulting from developments alongside or affecting National Roads.

• (Sec 2.1 NRA HD/01)

– Major Temporary Traffic Management Schemes (at discretion of Design Office PM)


When to do Road Safety Audit

• For large schemes– Stage F - Feasibility - Route

Selection– Stage 1 - Preliminary design - Land

Acquisition– Stage 2 - Detailed design - Tender– Stage 3 - Prior to opening to traffic– Monitoring after 1 and 3 years



• For smaller schemes– Stage 1/2 – Completion of design– Stage 3 – Prior to opening to traffic– Monitoring after 1 and 3 years



• For developments– Stage F - If major development– Stage 1 – Preliminary design– Stage 2 – Detailed design– Stage 3 – Prior to opening to traffic– Monitoring after 1 and 3 years


The safety audit task

• Examination of scheme detail

• Check lists• Control data• Role play as different

users• Report• Monitoring


What to look for

• At all stages:– Mistakes– Opportunities to include accident-reducing

elements– How all road users will cope at all times– Interaction between design elements– Departure from standards


What to look for

• At Stage 1– Road Alignment– Junction Layout– Accesses– Possible detailed design problems

• At Stage 2– Design changes since stage 1– Design details

• At Stage 3– Design changes since stage 2– Has the scheme been built as designed ?


Who should do Audits

– Must be independent of the design team– At least two people, three on large schemes– Safety engineering “experts”– Approved by NRA, if on national road– Road Safety Officers, Specialists, Police

(stage 3 only)


To Get NRA Approval

Team Member• 2 yrs experience as roads or traffic engineer• 3-5 day approved course in Road Safety Audit• 5 “practice” audits as a traineeTeam Leader• Either 2 years experience in Accident Investigation

and Prevention or 2-week approved course in Road Safety Engineering

• 10 “practice” audits as trainee.


• In Design-and-Build or PPP (once PPP process has started) the RSA team must be from a completely separate organisation from the design team. NOT from the same firm or any part of the consortium at all.

• For D&B and PPP contracts the road safety auditor is more likely to be continually checking the scheme as the design progresses. There may be a number of pre stage 2 and stage 3 road safety audits.


Skills required

– Road safety engineering experience– Knowledge of design standards– Knowledge of current road safety research– Diplomacy– Teaching / Learning


Cost

• Costs small in relation to over all scheme costs.– 1500 to 6000 Euro per stage – 3500 to 20,000 Euro for a full scheme

• DMRB estimates a FYRR of 600% for SA’s

• Findings show schemes audited on average have one casuality per year less than non audited schemes. (UK, Surrey Co.Co)


Thank you!

Documents

Safey Audits. E xplanation of Audits and the Requirements at each Stage of the Audit Process