The State University of New Jersey RUTGERS

Road Safety Audit Peer Network

What is a Road Safety Audit?

A Road Safety Audit (RSA) is a safety performance examination done by an independent, multidisciplinary team on existing or future roads and intersections. The team estimates and identifies any potential road safety issues that could be hazardous to not only motorized traffic, but all potential road users, including pedestrians.

What is the difference between RSA and a Traditional Safety Review?

Road Safety Audit

Traditional Safety Review

Performed by a team independent of the project.

The safety review team is usually not completely independent of the design team.

Performed by a multi-disciplinary team.

Typically performed by a team with only design and/or safety expertise.

Considers all potential road users.

Often concentrates on motorized traffic.

Accounting for road user capabilities and limitations is an essential element of an RSA.

Safety Reviews do not normally consider human factor issues.

Always generates a formal RSA report.

Often does not generate a formal report.

A formal response report is an essential element of an RSA.

Often does not generate a formal response report.

In a Traditional Safety Review (TSR), quite often human factor safety issues are not considered or addressed in assessing the safety of a particular road or intersection. That is why it is incredibly important for RSA to eliminate or mitigate any safety concerns.


RSAs can and should be used on any sized projects, local and nationwide, from a minor intersection to a roadway in a mega-project.


The Need in New Jersey

As a major corridor for the northeast, New Jersey accumulates close to 320,000 crashes on average and 700 or more fatalities annually. There is a severe need for coordination of road safety audit programs statewide; however, local agencies may not be aware of the benefit of Road Safety Audits/Assessments, or know where to find the resources that they need to properly conduct them.

Capitalizing on the customer-service driven approach of the NJ Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP), LTAP has established a Road Safety Audit Peer Network, allowing local agencies to access valuable information and qualified people on a local level.

New Jersey Road Safety Audit Peer Network

New Jersey LTAP has collaborated with its sister program, the Transportation Safety Resource Center (TSRC) at Rutgers University, to compile a network group of qualified transportation professionals to serve as knowledgeable peers to local agencies and the experience of TSRC employees in road safety audit methods.

TSRC aids in providing crash analyses using Plan4Safety, which is an analytical crash analysis tool designed by TSRC for the NJ Department of Transportation. With the use of this analysis tool in addition to the peer supporters provided by LTAP, RSAs can be applied to local areas and agencies that are in need, mitigating major safety concerns that may have previously been overlooked by traditional safety reviews.

Comprehensive RSA Train-the-Trainer courses, specifically designed for those professionals who are willing to become part of the Road Safety Audit Peer Network as peer supporters, are already underway; once complete, additional RSA classes will be held to help train locals in how to conduct RSAs.

This RSA Peer Group Network includes free access to local groups on information about RSA methods, a network of trained, knowledgeable peers, increased understanding of RSA impacts through technical assistance, and expert support from LTAP and TSRC employees.


Peer Network Resources

FHWA RSA Links:


RSA Documents:


RSA Videos:


Supplemental Resources:

  • A Resident's Guide for Creating Safe and Walkable Communities
  • Speed Limit Setting Tool
  • Retroreflectivity Requirements
  • What's New in Safety


Initiatives

© 2005 Transportation Safety Resource Center.
All rights reserved.