Road Safety Assessments: Who, What, How, When, Where and Why

1. Ruben Hovanesian June 27, 2012 Road Safety Assessments: Who, What, How, When, Where and Why

2. Poll • Public Agencies? • Private Agencies?

3. Overview • Road Safety Assessments • What • How • When • Who • Why • Example

4. What is it?

5. What is an RSA? • Road Safety Assessment (RSA) • Road Safety Audit…but who likes an “audit”??

6. What is an RSA? • Qualitative safety assessment of a roadway • The Why and the How • Not just What, When, and Where

7. What is an RSA? • Identifies current and potential road safety issues • Identifies opportunities for improvements in safety for all road users

8. Objective • Reducecrash risk from road elements

9. Objective • What roadway elements may present a safety concern? • To what extent • To which road users • Under what circumstances

10. Objective • What opportunities exist to eliminate or mitigate identified safety concerns?

11. How to do an RSA?

12. How to do an RSA

13. Start-up Meeting & Information Exchange • Introductions • Chain of command • Expectations • Knowledge exchange • Documents and previous studies

14. Problem Identification & Site Visit • Desk study • Identify possible trends • Do not attempt to identify solutions • Team visit to site • Time determined by crash statistics • Drive (walk) the site

15. Risk Analysis & Countermeasure Identification • Workshop setting • Crash reports reviewed along with site visit notes • Hazard identification • Crash Risk

16. Crash Risk Frequency Severity

17. Frequency

18. Severity

19. Risk Assessment Scale

20. Prepare RSA Summary Presentation • Crash statistics and analysis • Site visit observations

21. RSA Summary Presentation • Presented to owner/designer • No mandate to open to public • Feedback

22. Extra signage, not appropriate for the situation $ Remove unnecessary chevron

23. Final Report Development • Made without the influence of owner/designer • Or politics • Submitted to owner/designer

24. Response Letter • Response from owner/designer • Notes reasons for situations • Budget • Crew • Community

25. When to do it?

26. When to do an RSA?

27. Proactive • Does not necessarily need “X” amount of crashes at “Y” severity

28. Who does it?

29. Who does the RSA? • 3 to 5 person RSA team • Interdisciplinary • Traffic operations • Geometric design • Enforcement • Road safety • Additional specialty skills are needed

30. Who does the RSA? • Owner of roadway • Design team

31. Why do it?

32. Why Perform an RSA?

33. Proactive • Politically good • Good Engineering practice • Solves the problem, before it’s a problem

34. Interdisciplinary Team • Brings a range of experience and background • Lack of familiarity • Provides impartial judgment • Owner/designer complacency

35. Interaction • How users act and respond • Roadway elements and users • Not just compliance

36. Example • Crash locations • No obvious pattern • Serious roll over and road departure crashes • Drinking not a problem • Site visit • Poor maintenance of road sides and signage • Low visibility • Crash reports • Proximity of drivers’ residence

37. Thank you!