English summary

Road safety audit

The first edition of Road Safety Audit (RSA) guidelines was published in the Czech Republic in 2006 (Metodika provádění bezpečnostního auditu, CDV, 2006). The conditions for performing RSA have changed since then, mainly due to the transposition of EU Directive 2008/96/EC into the Czech legislation. RSA has become obligatory for all road schemes within the TEN-T road network and an educational system for auditors has been established in the Czech Republic. All these changes have resulted in the need for an update of the RSA guidelines. The update was prepared by Centrum dopravního výzkumu, v. v. i. in December 2012 (Audit bezpečnosti silničního provozu — metodika provádění, CDV, 2012).

The main principles contained in the updated guidelines are:

  • RSA is defined as a systematic procedure that brings state-of-the-art knowledge about road safety into the road design process. It is a formal check of road schemes and projects carried out by an independent and qualified road safety auditor. The auditor produces the RSA report, where safety risks are identified and recommendations for their eliminations are introduced.
  • RSA is mandatory for all roads within the TEN-T network and recommended for the rest of the road network.
  • RSA is performed during four stages of project development:
    • Preliminary design
    • Detailed design
    • Before the road is opened for interim operation
    • Before the road is approved for standard operation
  • RSA can be performed by a single auditor only, but it is recommended to establish a team of auditors in most cases. The number of auditors in an audit team depends on the scale, stage and type of the audited project.
  • To become the road safety auditor, a person is required to have a certain number of years of experience in the field of road safety (the number of years differs according to the educational background of such person), needs to attend a 40-hour training course, and needs to pass an exam organized by the Ministry of Transport of the Czech Republic. It is necessary to attend a 16-hour refresher course every three years after the initial training.
  • It is recommended that the auditor divides the risks identified within the RSA into three categories – low, medium and high. It enables the client to prioritize the implementation of audit recommendations.
  • The client needs to respond to audit findings by a short written statement. The client clarifies which recommendations will be accepted and in case of no acceptance the client specifies the reasons.
  • The checklists are a part of the guidelines and their usage is recommended.
  • Road Safety Impact Assessment (RSIA) is briefly described in the guidelines.

Road safety inspection

The first edition of Road Safety Inspection (RSI) guidelines was published in the Czech Republic in 2007 (Metodika bezpečnostní inspekce pozemních komunikací, CDV, 2007). The guidelines were updated in 2009, but the conditions for performing RSI have changed since then, mainly due to the transposition of EU Directive 2008/96/EC into the Czech legislation. RSI has become obligatory for all road schemes within the TEN-T road network and an educational system for auditors has been established in the Czech Republic. All these changes have resulted in the need for an update of the RSI guidelines. The update (Bezpečnostní inspekce pozemních komunikací — metodika provádění, CDV, 2013) was prepared by Centrum dopravního výzkumu, v. v. i. in April 2013, next issue 2016.

The main principles contained in the updated guidelines are:

  • The road authority is responsible for performing RSI
  • RSI is defined as systematic and formal check of existing roads, which is performed by an inspection team in order to evaluate the effects of technical and operational characteristics of road infrastructure on road safety and to analyze the risks for all road users. The aim of RSI is to recommend the corrective measures based on findings of inspection team.
  • RSI is mandatory for all roads within the TEN-T network and recommended for the rest of the road network. The performance interval is 5 years.
  • RSI can be performed by a team consisting from a single road safety auditor (auditor can perform all road safety tools) and one another person. The number of members in an inspection team depends on the scale, stage and type of the inspected road.
  • To become the road safety auditor, a person is required to have a certain number of years of experience in the field of road safety (the number of years differs according to the educational background of such person), needs to attend a 40-hour training course, and needs to pass an exam organized by the Ministry of Transport of the Czech Republic. It is necessary to attend a 16-hour refresher course every three years after the initial training. The qualification requirements for other members of inspection team are not specified.
  • It is recommended that the inspection team divides the risks identified within the RSI into three categories – low, medium and high. It enables the road authority to prioritize the implementation of inspection recommendations.
  • The checklists are a part of the guidelines and their usage is recommended.

Roads revision

Revision of selected sections of the road network - includes an accident analysis of selected sections of the TEN-T road. The inspection is carried out every three years and focuses on assessing the impact of construction, technical and operational roads properties on their safety. The update (Prohlídky vybraných úseků silniční sítě — metodika provádění, CDV, 2016) was prepared by Centrum dopravního výzkumu, v. v. i. in December 2016.

Should you be interested in receiving more information, do not hesitate to contact Mrs. Eva Kšicová (email: eva.ksicova@cdv.cz).