Outline of the Presentation ROAD SAFETY AUDIT (RSA) ROAD SAFETY AUDIT?... 5/23/2015. Introduction WHAT IS ROAD SAFETY AUDIT?

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1 ROAD SAFETY AUDIT (RSA) Outline of the Presentation Definition of road safety audit Cost benefit of road safety audit Why and when do need road safety audit Different stages of road safety audit How to conduct road safety audit Eligibility to conduct road safety audit in different stage 1 2 Introduction The traditional road engineering approach to safety has very often been to wait and see, i.e. safety countermeasures are not considered until the accident situation becomes unacceptable. Whereas, many of the accidents and casualties at the sites under investigation could have been prevented by implementing simple physical measures based on proper safety checks or audits. Indeed, Road Safety Audit is one of the newest and most effective tools being used throughout the engineering profession to ensure that safety principles are built into the design, construction and maintenance of highways as a means of 3 accident prevention WHAT IS ROAD SAFETY AUDIT? A formal road safety examination of the road or traffic project, or any other type of project which affects road users, carried out by an independent, qualified auditor or team of auditors who reports on the project accident potential and safety performance for all kinds of road users. 4 WHAT IS ROAD SAFETY AUDIT? Road Safety Audit (RSA) is a term used internationally to describe an independent review of a project to identify road or traffic safety concerns. It is a formal examination of a road or a traffic project. The systematic application of RSAs result in the safety needs of all road users, motorist, cyclists and pedestrians being considered. RSA is a pro-active approach with the primary aim of identifying potential safety problems as early as possible in the process so that decisions can be made about eliminating or reducing the problems, preferably before a scheme is implemented or accidents occur. 5 ROAD SAFETY AUDIT?... U. K. Definitions Safety audit is the evaluation of physical elements and their interactions having a direct bearing on the safety of road users and others affected by a road construction scheme in order to detect foreseeable potential safety hazards before a new road is opened to traffic (DoT 1990). Road safety audit is a formal procedure for assessing accident potential and safety performance in the provision of new road schemes, and schemes for the improvement and maintenance of existing roads (IHT 1996) 6 1

2 ROAD SAFETY AUDIT?... Australian Definitions The Austroads manual (1994) defines road safety audit as a formal examination of existing or future road or traffic project, or any project which interacts with road users, in which an independent, qualified examiner reports on the project s accident potential and safety performance. In Australia, the sate of New South Wales (NSW) first introduced road safety audit under a formal process. The Roads and Traffic Authority of NSW defines road safety audit as the examination of a road works proposal by an independent qualified examiner to ensure that it will provide a high level of safety (RTA 1991). 7 ROAD SAFETY AUDIT?... New Zealand Definitions Transit New Zealand (1993) defines safety auditing is a formalised process to : Identify potential safety problems for road users and others affected by a road project; and ensure that measures to eliminate or reduce the problems are considered fully. 8 The essential elements of RSA The essential elements of this definition are that it is: a formal process; an independent process; carried out by someone with appropriate experience and training; restricted to road safety issues. RSA is more than checking standards Standards do not guarantee safety as: Standards are developed for a range of reasons, e.g. cost or traffic capacity, as well as safety. Standards are often a minimum requirement. Standards usually cover general or common situations, not all situations. The standard may not be applicable to the circumstances in the design RSA is more than checking standards Standards do not guarantee safety as: May not standard for all Individual road elements, designed to standard, may be quite safe in isolation but may, when combined with other standard elements, be unsafe The particular standard may be based on old information. A designer may be using an inappropriate standard or an outdated standard. 11 Where is RSA Used around the World? The RSA concepts were originally developed and introduced in the United Kingdom (UK) in 1989 Soon recognized around the world and many countries have since established their own similar systems. The most active countries have been Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, and UK and many other developed countries are moving towards adopting such safety checking procedures. Several developing countries including Fiji Islands, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam have introduced the RSAs into their road planning and 12 design procedures. 2

3 OBJECTIVE OF RSA to ensure a high level of safety for all new highway schemes from day one; There are other objectives: to identify potential road or traffic safety concerns for all road users to reduce the whole-life costs of a scheme to minimize the risk of accidents on the adjacent road network, (particularly at tie-ins) as well as on the new road scheme. OBJECTIVE OF RSA. to enhance the relevance of road safety engineering in highway design work. to enhance consideration of the safety of all road users in all new and existing schemes. improve the awareness of safe design practices of everyone involved in the design THE COSTS AND THE BENEFITS OF RSA The cost of conducting audits varies widely and depends as much as anything on the size of the project. In Australia, AUSTROADS (2002) suggests that auditing a large new project (requiring audits at four stages) may add about 4% to the road design costs. With design costs typically about 5-6% of a total project cost, the impact of a road safety audit on the costs of a project is really quite small. 15 THE COSTS AND THE BENEFITS OF RSA A review of safety audit practices (Brownfield et al 1996) revealed similarly small costs associated with audits: staff time for audits averaged 25 hours i.e. cost of undertaking the audit itself which is often equivalent to less than 4 % of the road design costs.; the increase in construction costs due to redesign averaged 0.5% for large projects and 3% for smaller projects. 16 THE COSTS AND THE BENEFITS OF RSA A study by Austroads on the benefit of the RSA has demonstrated substantial benefit from the process. For the design stage audits, it was demonstrated that benefit cost ratio (BCR) of implementing all the recommendations from individual audits ranged from 3:1 to 242:1. 17 THE COSTS AND THE BENEFITS OF RSA A study before and after crash statistics were compared for 19 audited projects with 19 unaudited projects of similar remedial treatments. Crash statistics were compared for the 38 sites for a period of at least two years before and two years after construction. Average casualty saving of 1.25 per year for audited schemes, compared to 0.26 for non-audited schemes. 18 3

4 THE COSTS AND THE BENEFITS OF RSA In Australia, the results for the audits of existing roads were lower overall but still very positive THE COSTS AND THE BENEFITS OF RSA A Jordanian study attempted to quantify the benefits of road safety audit by considering nine sites that had been constructed in the previous decade (without any auditing), had developed crash problems, and then had been improved geometrically. Overall the first year rate of return was 120%. The BCR s ranged from 2.4:1 to 84:1. 78% of all proposed actions had positive BCR s. More than 50% of all proposed actions were below $5000AUD. 19 The value of the benefits achieved by audits in Jordan (from savings in crashes) may be greater than could be achieved in a western nation such as Britain or Australia. It is believes the benefits of road safety audit in developing countries is likely to be higher than in western countries, given that reported fatality rates in the developing nations are substantially higher and that vehicle ownership in those countries is increasing rapidly. 20 OTHER BENEFITS OF RSA United Kingdom experience suggests that at least 33 % of accidents can potentially be avoided or their severity reduced by conducting the RSA. the likelihood of accidents can be reduced, the severity of accidents can be reduced, unsustainable losses to both health and the economy can be minimized, road safety is given greater prominence not only in the minds of road designers and traffic engineers but also in the competition with other interests, the need for costly remedial work is reduced, the total cost of a project to the community, including crashes, personal injuries, and disruption is reduced. 21 Area of Application AREA OF RSA A RSA should be under-taken on any design for new roads any proposal for changes in existing roads or road environment which are likely to alter interactions between different road users, or between road users and their environment. After roads have been constructed, the conditions might have changed signifi-cantly, for example design standards, function of the road, traffic volume and distribution, vehicle weights, land use, and accesses can all alter. Therefore it is important, from time to time, to inspect even the existing road network. This task should be co-ordinated with investigation of Accident Black Spots. 22 AREA OF RSA Types Of Projects major highways schemes, minor improvements, major maintenance works, major traffic management schemes, development schemes. 23 WHY WE NEED RSA Sometimes a design may include standards that are inappropriate for the type of road. In some cases, outdated standards may be used in a design. Sometimes the combination of various elements of the design may yield a result that is not the best in terms of safety. Often, compromises between capacity and safety are made which lead to a lessening of safety. Sometimes changes are made during construction, which do not fully consider operational safety factors. 24 4

5 WHEN DO WE NEED RSA? Different Stages of RSA 1. the feasibility (planning) stage, 2. preliminary (draft) design stage, 3. detailed design stage, 4. traffic management of roadworks stage, 5. pre-opening 6. post opening stage and 7. an existing road audit. 1. Feasibility (Planning) Stages By providing a specific safety input at the feasibility stage of a road scheme, road safety audit can influence fundamental issues such as route choice, standards, impact on and continuity with the existing adjacent network, and intersection or interchange provision Feasibility (Planning) Stages General issues to be considered may include: The scope of the project, including design speed The type and degree of access to adjacent developments The influence of staging Road Safety Audit Team reviewing project plans Weather conditions and natural features peculiar to the site Draft Design Stage On completion of the draft road design, typical considerations include: horizontal and vertical alignments, intersection layouts. After this stage, as land acquisition and other associated legal matters become finalized, subsequent changes in road alignment become much harder to achieve. Road safety audit team reviewing plans on site at a coastal highway

6 2. Draft Design Stage General issues to be considered may include: Changes since the first stage of audit Services, including placement of poles and roadside furniture Future widening provisions Cross-sections, and roadway and intersection layout Interface with the existing road network Pedestrian and cyclists needs Detailed Design Stage This audit stage occurs on completion of the detailed road design but before the preparation of contract documents. Typical considerations include: geometric layout, line markings, signals, lighting, signing, intersection details, clearances to roadside objects (crash barriers/frangibility) and provision for vulnerable road users. Attention to detail at this design stage can do much to reduce the costs and disturbance associated with last minute changes Detailed Design Stage 33 General issues to be considered may include: Changes since the second stage of audit Roadside hazard management (placement of poles, crash barriers and roadside furniture) Geometry of horizontal and vertical alignment Sight distances Signs and line marking Typical cross-sections Roadway and intersection layout Pedestrian and cyclists needs Road Works Traffic Scheme Audit This stage of road safety audit covers the safety of road works during construction. It should consider the safety of all the road users, as well as the safety for the road workers Road Works Traffic Scheme Audit General issues to be considered may include: Changes made during the staging of the works Placement and condition of crash barriers Proximity to poles and roadside furniture Sight distances especially when road-making equipment is being stored Temporary signs and line marking Lane widths and typical cross-sections Roadway and intersection layout, and lighting 36 6

7 5. Pre-Opening Stage This audit involves a detailed inspection of a new scheme prior to, or immediately after, it s opening. The new road is driven, ridden and walked by the auditor or audit team) to ensure that the safety needs of all road users are provided. A nighttime inspection is particularly important to check signing, delineation, lighting and other darkness-related issues Pre-Opening Stage General issues to be considered may include: Changes since the detailed design stage of audit Roadside hazard management eg placement of poles, crash barriers and roadside furniture Geometry of horizontal and vertical alignment Signs and line marking conspicuous and clear Roadway and intersection layout Lighting and nighttime issues Post Opening Stage The final stage of a new road project of the RSA process is Monitoring. It is important that an evaluation of the actual safety situation is made after some years by the road administration especially when the decision for reconstruction was based on improving road safety or when new technology or designs have been implemented. Often accident studies are carried out 1 year and 3 years after opening Audit of Existing Roads This audit aims to ensure that the safety features of a road are compatible with the functional classification of the road, and to identify any feature that may develop over time into a safety concern (e.g. foliage blocking sight distance). Audits of existing roads are popular, and enthusiasm. 41 Road safety audit team observes various modes of transportation at an intersection 42 7

8 7. Audit of Existing Roads General issues to be considered may include: The placement of poles, crash barriers and roadside furniture Geometry of horizontal and vertical alignment Sight distances blocked by foliage or buildings Condition and suitability of signs and linemarking Surface conditions that may contribute to crashes Any misleading roadway or intersection layouts Lighting conditions 43 Pedestrian and cyclists provisions. 7. Audit of Existing Roads A safety audit of an existing road allows: The identification of features that we know to be hazardous across the network. The identification and treatment of other potential crashes at a site that already has a crash record. This may be done at little extra cost Audit of Existing Roads Road Safety Audit Team watching traffic signal operations and road users at an intersection Safety audits of existing roads can take place for the following reasons: The surrounding network of a new project should always be audited. A new road is open or partially open to traffic during the construction phase and thus a pure pre-opening audit cannot be carried out. A crash investigation needs to be carried out due to obvious severe safety problems but the crash data is for a short period only or of dubious accuracy A holistic safety management structure for both new schemes and the existing road network THE AUDIT PROCESS The general RSA procedure will include three main phases: commissioning, undertaking, Completion 47 Follow-up 48 8

9 THE AUDIT PROCESS The general RSA procedure will include three main phases: commissioning, undertaking, completion Order the audit Commissioning A RSA Usually, the decision to audit is taken by the client (Road Administration or Road Authority). But it may be regulated by Ministry decision or by law Commissioning A RSA Selecting the team The client commissions the auditor, who can either be an individual or a team. Ideally, it should be a team with different skills appropriate to the project. One person in the team should be appointed as the team leader to manage the team and the process. A list of potential auditors compiled by the client can be helpful for the selection process. 51 Commissioning A RSA Collection of background information and audit brief It is important that the audit team is given all required documents at the beginning. Incomplete documents lead to questions and additional demands, resulting in more time and work being required for the audit. 52 Commissioning A RSA Collection of background information and audit brief background to the scheme and its intended function, scheme drawings, details of any part of the scheme which are not in accordance with national standards, specific scheme details which may affect road safety, in cases of a rehabilitation, widening or larger maintenance of an existing road, any accident data which are available, 53 Commissioning A RSA Collection of background information and audit brief traffic flow and composition, any previous audit or RSI reports, any local issues that need to be taken into account, which might affect road safety, local Road Safety Officer, if appropriate, and Police contact details, any other information which might be relevant. The number of documents required increases as the design phases proceed. From the existing documents, the following ones must be available to the auditor depending on the audit phase. 54 9

10 Commissioning A RSA Commencement meeting The objective of the commencement meeting is to ensure the design team understands the audit process and to provide the audit team with all the necessary information. All the parties should be present at this first meeting. It is valuable for the audit team to meet with the design team at the beginning of the audit process. This meeting provides the opportunity to explain to the audit team the projects purpose, particular issues and any problems The meeting is also a good time to explain the process and distinguish between the task and responsibilities of the audit team and those of the designer THE AUDIT PROCESS The general RSA procedure will include three main phases: commissioning, undertaking, completion Undertaking The RSA Analysis of background information Site inspections The use of checklists Audit findings Audit report Undertaking The RSA Analysis of background information After the commencement meeting, the audit team reviews in detail the plans and other information provided considering the potential impact on all different types of road users. All the information should be assessed. At this time, it is often possible to identify areas of the project which contain potential safety problems. Auditors should be given sufficient time to carry out a RSA. 59 Undertaking The RSA Site inspections In order for a clear understanding of the project to be gained, it is important that the auditors carry out a site inspection. Field inspections allow the auditor to see how the proposal interacts with surrounding and nearby roads. Both night time and day time inspections are essential to appreciate the situation. It may also be necessary to view the location at other times of the day (e.g. after school finishes)

11 5/23/2015 Undertaking The RSA Undertaking The RSA Site inspections contd. The use of checklists the auditors must have the following basic questions in mind: To ensure that safety aspects have not been overlooked during the procedure, checklists should be used to assist the auditors in considering the relevant issues. Different checklists have been developed for different stages of a project s development. who can be hurt and in what way? is the solution safe for all relevant road users to use the traffic facility? is the design that has been selected the best for traffic safety, within the framework of the regulations? do new findings concerning traffic safety and road design make a different design seem advisable? A R CCIDENT ESEARCH 61 INSTITUTE 62 Feasibility Stage Audit Checklist Details Feasibility Stage Audit Checklist 63 Feasibility Stage Audit Checklist Details 64 Feasibility Stage Audit Checklist Details

12 Undertaking The RSA Preliminary Design Stage Audit Checklist The use of checklists.. The checklists are set against the following background: full exploitation of any room for discretion in the technical standards and specifications in order to optimize road safety; findings from local accident investigations; results of new research work; experience gained from earlier audits; regularly occurring design errors Undertaking The RSA Audit findings Following the site inspection, the audit team reviews in detail the safety implications of the scheme back in the office. It is important that all relevant aspects have been covered. Again, reference to checklists can be every beneficial. The auditors indicate any road safety problems and include proposals for addressing these deficiencies. 69 Audit report Undertaking The RSA The audit results are described in a report, which is delivered to the client. The report should clearly and concisely describe the project, the audit stage, the audit team members and the audit process. The main role of the audit report is to describe aspects of the project that involve road safety concerns and make recommendations about corrective actions. 70 Audit report contd.. The audit report should contain the following material: a brief description of the proposed scheme, a statement regarding which stage of the audit process the report relates to, details of the teams involved, details of the specific deficiencies identified, with reasons why these are regarded as deficiencies, 71 Audit report contd.. The audit report should contain the following material.. Sketches/Drawing etc. of deficiencies and recommended improvements recommendations for actions to remove or reduce the impact of these deficiencies (long and short term), copies of any plans used in the audit together with a list of other documents and drawings used, concluding statement

13 Audit report contd.. An audit report should: Avoid verbosity, be simple and brief statements, avoid lofty sentences; Not include credentials of the auditor; Not make such comments which do not pertain to the road planning, design, construction, maintenance project or existing road under auditing; Not include design details drawings produced by designers; Not include the checklists/questionnaire used for auditing; Not include elaborate extracts from manuals other than only references 73 THE AUDIT PROCESS The general RSA procedure will include three main phases: commissioning, undertaking, completion 74 Completion of the RSA Completion meeting Response to the audit report Follow up 75 Completion of the RSA Completion meeting A clarifying meeting between the client, the designer and the auditors is needed to discuss the audit result. It is important that the audit team leader, design leader and client are present so that all parties can clearly understand the issues raised. 76 Completion of the RSA Response to the audit report The client reviews the formal audit report and considers the indicated problems and proposals. The client can request the designer to comment and give response to the report s recommendations but the client decides finally whether recommendations are to be adopted or not. All recommendations must be given due consideration. Those that are accepted should be implemented without delay. Following the client s decision, the designer modifies the scheme in accordance with the accepted amendments and the work is implemented. Before RSA After RSA View of main road from a Same rural road after a road side road before a road safety safety audit where guardrail 77 audit has been installed 78 13

14 Follow up Completion of the RSA A key element in the entire process is the postopening monitoring. It is vitally important that the safety performance of the project is monitored at specific intervals. THE AUDIT PROCESS 1. commissioning, 2. undertaking, 3. completion It is usual for this to be done 1 year and 3 years after opening. In this way, the validity of decisions taken can be checked and modified for future schemes if necessary THE AUDIT PROCESS 1. commissioning, 2. undertaking, 3. completion THE AUDIT PROCESS 1. commissioning, 2. undertaking, 3. completion THE AUDIT PROCESS 1. commissioning, 2. undertaking, 3. completion WHO SHOULD CARRY OUT A RSA? Roles and Responsibilities The client (generally the Road Authority and project owner), the designer and the auditor(s) are the three main parties participating in the audit process and their roles and responsibilities must be clearly defined

15 WHO SHOULD CARRY OUT A RSA? WHO SHOULD CARRY OUT A RSA? Roles and Responsibilities Generally the client, as the person responsible for the project, initiates the RSA and commissions the auditor, The client has responsibility to ensure that audits are commissioned at the appropriate stages and clear terms of reference are laid down covering the range, scope and responsibilities of the audit and auditors. 85 The designer is responsible for the detailed technical design of the project. The auditor(s) is the person or team undertaking the RSA. 86 A typical audit team would consist of: Roles And Responsibilities team Leader has overall responsibility for carrying out the audit; this includes managing the process and the team and ensuring the report is delivered on time. It is also the leaders responsibility to ensure that the audit is done within the terms of reference as laid down; team Member has responsibility for carrying specific tasks and duties within the audit as delegated to them; specialist Advisers have responsibility to provide specialist independent advice to the team as and when required. The specialist adviser need not be a full-time member of the team, being brought in as and when required. 87 Team of Auditors Independence of the auditors For maximum effectiveness it is very important that RSA is carried out by independent auditors. Auditors can be from private firms or road administration but they have to be independent of the project design team. 88 Team of Auditors Qualification of the auditors RSA should be conducted by a team of auditors with adequate experience in Road Safety engineering principles and practices, traffic engineering and traffic management, road design, accident investigation and prevention. An auditor who has an understanding of road user behavior and human perception is also important because the interactive nature of road user behavior with the road environment. 89 Team of Auditors Experience and training of the auditors The team should comprise of a leader, team members, specialist advisers (where necessary) and observers (these will generally be junior staff gaining experience in RSA). The audit team leader should have completed relevant university education and have significant experience in road safety engineering and/or accident investigation. Four to five years would be a minimum length of experience. Team members would normally be expected to have relevant education also plus about 2 years experience

16 Training and Accreditation Adelaide Road Safety Audit Summit led to the formulation of the following model for accreditation : Five years (minimum) relevant experience in road design, traffic engineering, road safety engineering or other closely related road safety discipline. Successful completion of a road safety audit training course approved and recognised by a State Road Authority. Participation in at least five road safety audits under the guidance/leadership of a Senior Auditor. Certify maintenance of knowledge and experience by participating in at least one audit per annum. If the above recommendations from the summit are adopted, to be listed as a Road Safety Auditor, a person will be required to satisfy points 1 and 2 above. To be listed as a Senior Safety Auditor, a person will be required to satisfy points 1,2 and 3 above. Both levels of auditors will be required to 91 satisfy point 4 in order to remain on the list of accredited ACCIDENT auditors. RESEARCH INSTITUTE SYSTEMATIC IMPLEMENTATION Some important components of the successful establishment of road safety audit nationally could include the following: Establishment of a road safety audit manager/ coordinator Overseas visits to explore and learn more about procedures and practices Visiting experts to carry out joint pilot audits, workshop and training sessions Development of national road safety audit guidelines and procedures Development of policies and legislation related to national roads to include safety audit as an operational activity Development of a course on road safety engineering to include safety audit Continue training local engineers and researchers in road safety 92 engineering SYSTEMATIC IMPLEMENTATION some further important steps could include the following: Develop programs for a phased introduction, Run introductory workshops to raise the awareness Set up and run demonstration/pilot projects Continue with further workshops and training courses Set up a working party or group across relevant agencies to develop safety audit guidelines Implement the safety audit policies and guidelines Continue on-going road safety audit training of sound quality and practical level Monitor and evaluate audited schemes by assessing the benefits and feedback Take further strategies and drives for the systematic expansion of the 93 program Safety Audit Checklists: a vital requirement For example, some main topics and issues at the detailed design stage could cover the following: General Topics: broad issues and design consideration/approach Road Alignment: curvature, grades, visibility, sight distance Intersections: layout, detailed geometric design, visibility, traffic controls Pedestrian Facilities: provision for crossings, footpaths, refuge, segregation Cycle/Non-Motorised Vehicle Facilities: segregated/shared bicycle paths Motorcycle Facilities: motorcycle lane, lane segregation Traffic Signs and Markings: sign location, visibility, delineation Road Furniture: lighting, physical obstacles, bridge/culverts Traffic Management and Operation: network management, parking, safety zone. 94 Detail Design Stage Audit

17 5/23/ Thank you all Ensure Safety for All