A Road Safety Audit (RSA) is a formal process to provide a qualitative assessment of potential road safety issues. This process involves an independent, multidisciplinary team that identifies opportunities for improvements in safety for all road users on a to-be built road, intersection, or other location. RSAs can be used in any phase of project development from planning and preliminary engineering, design and construction. RSAs can also be used on any sized project from minor intersection and roadway retrofits to mega-projects.
An RSA seeks to answer:
- What elements of the road may present a safety concern: to what extent, to which road users, and under what circumstances?
- What opportunities exist to eliminate or mitigate identified safety concerns?
An RSA:
- Is performed by an independent, multidisciplinary team
- Considers all potential road users
- Generates a report
- Results in a formal response report addressing all issues identified
An in-service road safety review is similar to an RSA but is conducted on an existing location within the road network. The purpose is not to confirm a specific section of the road infrastructure complies with design standards. The aim is to identify factors leading to crashes that have occurred, or have a high risk of occurring, and identifying cost-effective countermeasures that would improve road safety and operations for all road users.
It is important to recognize that compliance with design standards does not necessarily result in an optimally safe road design and, conversely, failure to achieve compliance with standards does not necessarily result in a design that is unacceptable from a safety perspective.
Road safety audits mainly aim to achieve benefits by producing designs that reduce the number and severity of crashes. Audits may further reduce costs by identifying safety issues and correcting them before projects are built. Improving safety ultimately reduces the social cost of crashes.
Similarly, in-service safety reviews diagnose the causes of crashes occurring and identify cost-effective countermeasures for reducing them. They also save lives and lower the social cost of crashes.
Conducting a road safety audit or in-service safety review can involve a number of tasks, including:
- Reviewing design drawings or as-built plans
- Conducting field reviews of geometric, operations and human factors issues
- A review of crash data
- Listing and ranking the severity of key issues identified
- Identifying improvement measures to address key issues
A key tool is the use of prompt lists to help identify potential safety issues and ensure common problem/gaps are not overlooked. Prompt lists should be viewed as an aid, and they are not a substitute for knowledge and experience. Other data sources include:
- Crash data (by location, crash type, and severity)
- Volume data
- Speed data
- Signal timing plans (if applicable)
- Existing policies, standards, and guidelines
When to undertake a road safety audit or in-service review is a decision made by the relevant agency in charge of the road network. These decisions may be based on guidance provided by senior levels of government or in response to local issues and priorities.
For road safety audits, some agencies require that all major road projects designed using context sensitive design principles be audited. Others require audits of all projects with a construction cost exceeding a pre-determined threshold. Some agency criteria require that a proportion of all projects be audited or that a minimum number of RSAs be conducted each year.
For in-service reviews, these may support a formal Network Screening program with a certain number of reviews to be taken per year of locations with poor safety performance. Alternatively, locations may be identified for review based on recent incidents, citizen concerns, or in conjunction with planned construction projects.
Road safety audit teams should represent a variety of experience and expertise, including those with knowledge and experience in roadway design, traffic operations analysis, maintenance, construction, and human factors. The audit team members should be independent of the design team that developed the original plans and the facility owner to avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest.
Those conducting in-service safety reviews should have similar skills as RSAs. At a minimum, teams should be comprised of experience in road safety analysis, including crash data, understanding of traffic operations and data, and knowledge of human factors.
There are several tools available to assist in undertaking road safety audits and in-service safety reviews.
- Canadian Road Safety Audit Guide
This practical work is a comprehensive review of the safety audit process intended for road authorities, consultants and other interested groups. This publication contains chapters on basic road safety audit concepts, procedures, conducting audits, audit teams and pilot programs. Appendices include case studies, further reading suggestions and an audit prompt list. - Canadian Guide for In-Service Safety Reviews
The Canadian Guide to In-service Road Safety Reviews is a practical guide for conducting reviews on existing roads, based on the current experience and expertise in Canada and internationally. A companion guide to TAC’s Canadian Road Safety Audit Guide, this publication provides guidelines to traffic practitioners on how to upgrade the operational and physical characteristics of existing in-service roads to be more compatible with current traffic conditions and safety knowledge. The Guide would be of greatest interest to those individuals responsible for commissioning and conducting in-service road safety studies. - FHWA Road Safety Audit Website
This website provides an overview of road safety audits, their benefits, legal issues, steps to conduct audits, it also lists training and other resources, including case studies. - FHWA Road Safety Audit Guidelines
The primary purpose of this guideline is to provide a foundation for public agencies to draw upon when developing their own Road Safety Audit (RSA) policies and procedures and when conducting RSAs within their jurisdiction. These guidelines were developed by building upon experiences gained in the United States and in other countries. They are meant to present basic RSA principles, to encourage public agencies to implement RSAs, and to embrace them as part of their everyday practice. - Pedestrian and Bicyclist Road Safety Audit Guide and Prompt List
This guide is intended to support agencies interested in conducting pedestrian- and bicycle-focused RSAs. It includes information on safety risks for both modes, the RSA process, necessary data, and the roles and responsibilities of the RSA team. Also included are updated prompt lists for pedestrians and bicyclists to use in the field. This guide will aid practitioners in understanding pedestrian and bicyclist issues in their jurisdiction, and potentially achieving other goals in addition to safety, like enhancing quality of life, improving community health, or increasing pedestrian and bicycle mode share. - Work Zone Road Safety Audit Guidelines and Prompt Lists
The Work Zone Road Safety Audit Guidelines and Prompt Lists provides a process to individuals or agencies for performing formal work zone safety examinations to improve the safety of workers and all roadway users. This document includes guidance on conducting Road Safety Audits (RSA) at all phases of work zone planning, design and deployment, and considerations for each project phase. The guidelines and prompt lists explain the importance of the Work Zone RSA and navigate the practitioner through the RSA process. - Wrong Way Driving Road Safety Audit Prompt List
This document contains a Road Safety Audit (RSA) prompt list intended to focus specific attention on Wrong Way Driving (WWD) issues and contributing factors. The prompt list has been developed in a similar framework to the broader RSA prompt lists contained in Chapter 8 of the FHWA RSA Guidelines document. Like the original lists, the Wrong Way Driving prompt list is intended to help the RSA team identify potential safety issues, avoid overlooking important factors, and proactively identify potential issues.
Term | Definition |
Countermeasures | Interventions applied to reduce crashes, e.g. rumble strips |
Facility | Infrastructure provided for road user movements, e.g. roads, bicycle lanes, sidewalks |
Hotspots | Locations identified as having a high number of crashes compared to other locations |
Rumble strips | Textured strips installed on the road to alert drivers through tactile vibrations if they unintentionally veer off the roadway or across the centerline |
Cable median barrier | A safety barrier installed in the median of a divided highway composed of high-tension cables supported by posts |
High friction surface treatments | Applications of specialized materials or coatings on the road surface in increase friction between vehicle tires and the pavement |
Curve warning signs | Traffic signs used to warn drivers in advance of upcoming curves in the road |
Signal backplates | Panels mounted behind traffic signal heads to enhance the visibility of traffic signals |
Countdown pedestrian signals | Pedestrian crossing signals that display a numerical countdown indicating the time remaining for the pedestrian walk signal |
Educational campaigns | Public awareness initiatives designed to inform, educate and change behaviour related to road safety |
Crash tree diagram | A visual representation or chart that illustrates the frequency of crashes by crash types and other involved factors |
Road diets | A reallocation of road space by reducing the number of through lanes and adding a two-way left-turn lane, often with the addition of bicycle lanes or other facility |
Optical speed bars | Visual speed indicators painted on the road in the form of bars that provide optical cues to encourage motorists to reduce their speed |
Speed tables | A traffic calming device similar to a speed bump but that is longer and with a flat top |
Centreline hardening | A form of traffic calming that reduces the turning radius for vehicles using physical measures on the roadway to encourage slower speeds |
Gateway treatments | Physical measures taken where a rural road meets a more urban area to increase driver awareness that posted speed limits are changing, such as landscaping, signage or road markings |
