Abstract Manager

The purpose of this presentation is to conduct a retrospective review of the past 25 years of road safety audits (RSAs) in Canada and offer suggestions for enhancing the RSA process. The review draws upon the collective experience of the authors, who have conducted over 1,500 RSAs across all stages of rural and urban road planning. They've been involved in the design of new and existing roads, encompassing active transportation facilities, as well as BRT, and LRT transit systems.

The authors note that the first RSAs in Canada, such as the 1997 Highway 407 Safety Review, the 1998 Highway 22X RSA in Calgary, and the 1998 Fredericton-Moncton Highway, utilized the 1999 Road Safety Audit Guidelines (UNB Transportation Group) along with UK, Australia, and New Zealand RSA guidelines. The publication of the TAC Canadian Road Safety Guide in 2001 and the 2004 TAC Canadian Guide to In-Service Road Safety Reviews (ISRSR) have been instrumental in advancing RSAs within the Canadian transportation community since their introduction. Furthermore, the authors highlight that both Alberta and BC published RSA guidelines in 2004. Presently, most transportation authorities in Canada mandate an RSA for new projects, with RSAs typically being mandatory on Public-Private Partnership (P3s) projects. Moreover, more agencies are conducting RSAs on new facilities or those under consideration for upgrades, coinciding with the acceptance of Vision Zero and the safe system approach in Canada. 

The primary rationale for suggesting enhancements to the Canadian RSA process stems from the lessons learned over the past quarter-century. It also considers the introduction of innovative geometric designs, new signs, traffic control devices, pavement markings, and the emergence of ground-breaking technologies such as CAVs, AVs, EVs, e-bikes, and e-scooters. Additionally, changes in traffic regulations have influenced this need for enhancement. The authors have documented what they perceive as misapplications of design guidelines and the RSA process itself, particularly concerning responses to RSAs and the implementation of mitigation measures suggested by road safety auditors.

Our presentation includes suggestions for auditing the reference design and design guidelines/criteria in project agreements. It also addresses techniques for auditing temporary traffic management schemes, proposes the introduction of multiple phases for pre-opening RSAs, and outlines appropriate language for RSA certificates regarding substantial completion and trafficability following pre-opening/post-construction RSAs.