Road Safety Audit Definitions

Within this page we have put together several definitions of key words relating to a Road Safety Audit and the Road Safety Audit Team.

Collision Data Analysis

The examination of historical collision data over a period of time in order to identify patterns, common trends and factors which may have contributed to the incidents. This could also include the detailed forensic investigation of single collisions.

Audit Brief

The instructions to the Road Safety Audit Team defining the scope and details of the Highway Improvement Scheme to be audited, including sufficient information for the audit to be undertaken.

Audit Report

The report produced by the Audit Team describing the road safety related problems identified by the Audit Team and the recommended mitigation to those problems.

Audit Team

A team that works together on all aspects of the audit, independent of the Design Team and approved for a particular audit by the Highway Authority/Overseeing Organisation. The team shall comprise a minimum of two persons with appropriate levels of training, skills and experience in Road Safety Engineering and/or Collision Data Analysis. The members of the Audit Team may be drawn from within the Design Organisation or from another body.

Audit Team Leader

A person with the appropriate training, skills and experience who is approved for a particular audit by the Local Highway Authority/Overseeing Organisation. The Audit Team Leader has overall responsibility for carrying out the audit and managing the Audit Team.

Audit Team Member

A member of the Audit Team with the appropriate training, skills and experience necessary for the audit of a specific scheme reporting to the Audit Team Leader.

Audit Team Observer

A person with the appropriate training, skills and experience accompanying the Audit Team to observe and gain experience of the audit procedure. The Audit Team Observer is encouraged to contribute actively to the audit process but is not a member of the Audit Team.

RSA Response Report

A report that is normally prepared by the design organisation in response to the recommendations made in the Road Safety Audit.  The report must then be agreed with the Local Highway Authority/Overseeing Organisation, with a decision log included confirming the agreed actions taken in response to each of the problems and recommendations.

Design Organisation

The organisation(s) commissioned to undertake the various phases of scheme preparation.

Design Team

The group within the Design Organisation undertaking the various phases of scheme preparation.

Highway Improvement Schemes

All works that involve construction of new highway or permanent change to the existing highway layout or features. This includes changes to road layout, kerbs, signs and markings, lighting, signalling, drainage, landscaping and installation of roadside equipment etc.

Interim Road Safety Audit

The application of Road Safety Audit to the whole or part of a Highway Improvement Scheme at any time during the preliminary and detailed design stages. Interim Road Safety Audit is not mandatory or a substitute for the formal Stage 1, 2 and 3 Safety Audits.

Overseeing Organisation

The organisation responsible for the Highway Improvement Scheme to be audited. This would typically be the Local Highway Authority for works on local roads or National Highways for works to the Strategic Highway Network (Trunk Roads and Motorways).

Road Safety Audit

The evaluation of Highway Improvement Schemes during design and at the end of construction (preferably before the scheme is open to traffic) to identify potential road safety problems that may affect any users of the highway and to suggest measures to eliminate or mitigate those problems. The audit process includes the collision monitoring of Highway Improvement Schemes to identify any road safety problems that may occur after opening. This Stage 4 Audit will include the analysis and reporting of 12 months of completed personal injury incident data from when the scheme became operational.

Road Safety Engineering

The design and implementation of physical changes to the road network intended to reduce the number and severity of incidents involving road users, drawing on the results of Collision Data Analysis.

Specialist Advisor

A person approved by the Overseeing Organisation to provide specialist independent advice to the Audit Team should the scheme include complex features outside the experience of the Audit Team Members, e.g. a complex traffic signal controlled junction.