Road Safety Audits

What are Road Safety Audits?

The Austroads Guide to Road Safety Part 6: Road Safety Audit defines a Road Safety Audit as a formal examination of a future road or traffic project, or an existing road, in which an independent, qualified team reports on the project's crash potential and safety performance. A Road Safety Audit examines a road, intersection, car park design or temporary traffic management setup with a fresh, independent set of eyes to that of the designer, to identify safety related issues. Used before a project is built or during its planning stages, a Road Safety Audit provides its greatest potential for enhancing safety and becomes a cost-effective solution.

The Road Safety Auditing Process

The independent auditor or auditing team does not intend to modify or comment on the design itself, only to provide commentary on where safety related improvements can be made. Design solutions are recommended as an impartial party, but the project manager or designer is under no obligation to adopt the recommendations. Road Safety Audits introduce pro-active solutions to road engineering designs rather than reactive measures, by identifying factors with the potential to cause crashes and rating them based on their likelihood and severity.

Road authorities will often require the project team to address safety issues identified through the audit, so it's important to organise a Road Safety Audit early and discuss achievable outcomes with the auditors.

Road Safety Audit Types

RedSquare Traffic provides a series of road safety auditing services, including:

• Feasibility/Concept Stage Road Safety Audits
• Preliminary Design Stage Road Safety Audits
• Detailed Design Stage Road Safety Audits
• Pre-Opening Stage Road Safety Audits
• Post-Opening Stage Road Safety Audits
• Worksite Traffic Management Road Safety Audits

It's always a smart decision to have your access design, footpaths, car parks, intersections, worksite or event traffic management setup audited to ensure it provides sufficient safety outcomes. RedSquare Traffic's engineers are DTP (formerly VicRoads) Accredited Senior Road Safety Auditors, able to provide high quality Road Safety Audits at every project stage.