A Model for Developing Road Safety Audit Practice in Europe

The paper examines the Road Safety Audit Standard in the UK, HD 19/03, and describes from practical experience how this standard is being applied to new road schemes and highway improvements. The paper describes co-operation between colleagues in the UK, and those in Ireland and Italy, who have introduced Safety Audit into two very different highways cultures. In Ireland a national Standard has been developed, together with a training and accreditation programme for Safety Auditors. In Italy a route wide programme of auditing on existing roads has been developed, with consultants producing detailed reports describing problems and recommendations for improvement. The paper comments on issues relating to consistency of audit comments, along with the subject of risk assessment within Road Safety Audit. The paper briefly examines the scale of the highway related road safety problem across Europe, and refers to European Commission objectives for Safety Audit and safety impact assessment. The benefits of Safety Audit are examined, in order to encourage the adoption of Safety Audit, in particular within new Member States. The paper concludes by describing a management framework for the development of a common Road Safety Audit procedure within individual member states, including the need for national standards, training and accreditation of auditors, and the requirement for response and arbitration mechanisms within Safety Audit.