Road Safety Audits

Road safety audits are coming into prominence both in North America and worldwide. This is as a result of work by bodies such as ICBC who get to pay the costs (on behalf of the ultimate payees, the drivers), and through a general awareness of the need to coordinate design and operations to achieve a safer roadplace. A guide to good practice for everyone involved in the safety of roads and the prevention of accidents has been published by Austroads. Topics addressed include an introduction to road safety audits; the what, why, when and who of road safety audits; road safety audits and quality assurance; legal liability issues for Road Authorities; a step by step guide to conducting an audit; six "real life" case studies; road safety principles; a reading list; and a complete set of checklists covering safety audits, from feasibility study to existing road reviews. This Australian publication is available from ITE as Publication No. LP 389 for $75, $60 for ITE members, and can be ordered from the ITE Bookstore in Washington.

Other material on this topic includes: The ITE 1987 Annual Meeting compendium, 1994 ITE Annual Meeting compendium, proceedings of the New Zealand Land Transport Symposium 1994, and a number of technical papers published by TransFund New Zealand including "The Management of Road Safety in New Zealand" report 95/490 S, "Pilot Safety Audits, Local Roading Projects", and several others. For additional information about Safety Audits in New Zealand you could contact Dr. Ian Appleton, Safety Audit Manager, TransFund New Zealand, 20-26 Ballance Street, PO Box 2331, Wellington, New Zealand, Fax: 4-499-0733.

If you are looking for an excuse to travel, there is a conference in Wellington, New Zealand from 3 to 8 May 1988. For information contact Fiona Knight, Land Transport Policy Manager, Transit New Zealand, PO Box 5084, Wellington, New Zealand, Fax: 4-496-6666, or look at their WWW page which is at:http://www.wcc.gov.nz/wfcc