Road safety audits, without the drama
Every highway scheme that touches the public road gets a road safety audit at some point. For anyone outside the trade, it's an independent team looking at the design purely through the lens of "what could go wrong here?". They're very good at it. That's the point.
We organise audits as a matter of course on our S278 and S38 work, and we're often asked to brief the audit team and write the designer's response for schemes drawn by others. Over the years it's become one of the more satisfying bits of the job. A few things that keep it painless:
- Brief the team properly. The right drawings, the right background and a clear scope mean the audit looks at the scheme as it will actually be built, not as it looks on one sheet.
- Build the audit into the programme. It's a fixed step, not a surprise. Leave room for it and the response slots neatly into the design programme.
- Read the problem, not just the recommendation. The auditors describe a risk; the suggested fix is one answer. Often there's a neater one.
- Write the response like someone will read it in ten years. Clear, reasoned and signed off. Because someone might.
- Keep the response crisp. Agree where it's sensible, explain where it isn't, and move on.
An independent second look is simply part of a good process, the same as a check on the drawings before they go out. A well-handled audit is what makes a scheme ready for the road, and the schemes we're proudest of have all been through one.
If you need an audit organised, or a designer's response written, give us a shout.