ROAD SAFETY AUDITS: WILL THEY WORK IN THE U.S.?
Many experts say the road safety audit (RSA), a preconstruction assessment process that focuses specifically on safety, has the potential to save lives and, ultimately, money. RSAs, which were developed in Great Britain, have become so well accepted in Australia and New Zealand that those two countries are regarded as worldwide experts on the subject. Many U.S. engineers, however, remain unconvinced. The biggest obstacle to RSA success in this country can be summed up in one word: liability. The concern is that state departments of transportation might be held liable if, following a crash, they were found to have identified a given hazard but did not attempt to eliminate it. Costs, both in time and money, are also a factor. The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) currently is running a pilot study to evaluate the RSA process. North Carolina's experiences will probably be considered a bellwether for state DOTs throughout the country.
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Availability:
- Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00410721
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Corporate Authors:
1121 Spring Lake Drive
Itasca, IL United States 60143 -
Authors:
- Lewis, D
- Publication Date: 2000-7
Language
- English
Media Info
- Pagination: p. 14-16
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Serial:
- Traffic Safety (Chicago)
- Volume: 00
- Issue Number: 4
- Publisher: National Safety Council
- ISSN: 0041-0721
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Costs; Highway engineering; Highway safety; Highways; Liability; Safety audits; State departments of transportation
- Geographic Terms: Australia; New Zealand; North Carolina; United States
- Subject Areas: Finance; Highways; Law; Safety and Human Factors; I82: Accidents and Transport Infrastructure;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00797284
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS
- Created Date: Aug 29 2000 12:00AM