ROAD SAFETY AUDIT

Road Safety Audit is often required by highway and planning authorities when changes are proposed to an existing highway or in the creation of a new one.

Importance of Road Safety Audits

The objective of Road Safety Audits (RSA) is to identify aspects of engineering interventions that could give rise to road safety problems and to suggest modifications that could improve road safety. It is a process that is undertaken by Road Safety Auditors independent of the design team.

The auditors will view the scheme from the perspective of all road users, including drivers of motorised vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians, people with a sight and/or mobility impairment, equestrians, and public transport users. They will also consider how the scheme will perform during hours of darkness, and in times of inclement weather such as heavy rain or freezing conditions.

Road Safety Audits are critical in ensuring that roads are designed and constructed to the greatest safety standards. The Audit Team comprises a minimum of two persons with appropriate levels of training, skills and experience in Road Safety Engineering and/or Accident Investigation. Guidance for undertaking Road Safety Audits is provided by GG119 which can be found on the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges website.

Book a Free Consultation

Stages Of Road Safety Audit For Highway Works.

Stage 1 Road Safety Audit- Completion Of Preliminary Design

This is undertaken after the completion of preliminary design; it enables consideration of safety matters before finalising land take and other boundary issues. Where a preliminary design is not undertaken, a stage 1 RSA may be combined with a stage 2 RSA at the detailed design stage.

Stage 2 Road Safety Audit – Completion Of Detailed Design

The stage 2 RSA or combined stage 1 & 2 takes place after the completion of Detailed design. It focuses on all aspect of the design in detail while considering safety implications. The Audit Team considers the general layout further, the location of signs, carriageway markings, lighting, and other concerns such as drainage, pavements, kerbing, landscaping, and responses to the issues raised at RSA Stage 1.

Stage 3 Road Safety Audit – Completion of construction

Following completion of the construction of the project, the audit should be undertaken before the scheme is opened to traffic or within one month of opening to traffic. The Audit team will undertake a daylight and nighttime site visit to fully observe all hazards especially those specific to night time.

Stage 4 Road Safety Audit – Post Opening Monitoring

A stage 4 RSA report shall be produced where road traffic collisions have been recorded in the vicinity of the highway scheme over the 12 month period of validated road traffic collision data. Its not required if there is no collision recorded within the vicinity of the highway scheme.

At SANDS we have highly experienced Road Safety Auditors working on the simplest to the most complex of projects using DMRB GG119 and SQA-0170 for Transport for London(TfL) projects. SQA-170 is the procedure for carrying out Road Safety Audits (RSAs) on the Transport for London Road Network (TLRN).

CIVIL ENGINEERING CONSULTANCY SERVICES:

HIGHWAY ENGINEERING

Highway Engineering

We understand the importance of highways for both connectivity and economic growth and it forms the basis of our civil engineering offering. We design and deliver complex highway schemes using cost effective and sustainable solutions from concept design to detailed design. Our work includes geometric design, pavement design, drainage design and other associated elements of highways infrastructure.

Drainage Design

Drainage design and flood risk assessment are integral to successful planning applications with great emphasis on Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) for stormwater management. At SANDS our Engineers are highly experienced in developing well balanced drainage strategies and designs towards providing cost effective solutions to discharge planning conditions and project requirements.

Flood Risk Assessment

Flood risk assessments are used to identify and assess risks of all forms of flooding to a development and our drainage designs demonstrate how these flood risks are to be managed as part of the development while taking climate change into consideration.

Traffic Management Plans

We produce Chapter 8 traffic management plans for construction activities involving the highway network and construction site movements. We work in conjunction with the local approving authority for TMAN approvals with designs aimed at minimising the impact on the network, road users, residential and business premises in proximity of the proposed works.

Road Safety Audit