U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000
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Road Safety Audits (RSAs) are an effective tool at addressing safety for all users. This document provides the evaluation results of RSAs at both the program and project level. As part of this study, nine jurisdictions were reviewed for their unique ability to sustain an RSA program at the State, regional, or local level (see Table 1). These jurisdictions were selected based on the presence of an RSA program and their willingness to share their experiences. The key strategies underpinning these successful RSA programs are described in this document.
Table 1. Summary of RSA Programs Evaluated.
| Agencies | Focus | Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) | Low-cost, high-benefit safety and mobility | Rapid deployment of RSA team and implementation of recommendations. |
| Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) | Establish RSA champions and stakeholder relations | Trained over 60 transportation professionals on the basic and advanced techniques for conducting RSAs. |
| Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) | Recurring system-wide RSA program | Efficient use of personnel and consistent updating of traffic control devices. |
| Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) | Linking RSAs to highway safety improvement program | RSAs linked to funding and projects are programmed quickly. |
| Montgomery County, Maryland Department of Transportation (MCDOT) | Improving pedestrian and bicycle safety | Crash data and observations in the field used to understand and address pedestrian and bicyclist safety. |
| Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) | Collaborative and proactive approach to statewide safety | Findings from RSAs have been used to update DOT policies and standards. |
| Tennessee DOT (TDOT) | Formalized and uniform RSA process | RSAs are conducted in a more efficient and cost-effective manner. |
| Collier County, Florida | Adoption of an RSA policy including a RSA requirement for design permits | Improvements to design result in savings over the life of a project. |
| South Jersey Transportation Planning Organization (SJTPO) | Creating a comprehensive site selection processes | The process was able to identify locations for quick, low-cost improvements that would lead to the highest reduction in severe crashes. |
At the project level, five areas (four roadways and one intersection) were reviewed to quantify the safety benefits of specific improvements that were implemented as a result of an RSA. These projects were selected based on having implemented safety measures suggested as part of an RSA, as well as the availability of data for similar "comparison" sites within the agency's jurisdiction. Statistical analyses were conducted using observational before-after methods. As shown in Table 2, there was a significant reduction in crashes as a result of the suggestions implemented from the five RSAs. Total crash reductions ranged from 10 to 50 percent. For most RSA projects, benefit/cost (B/C) ratios—which compare the benefits derived from crash reduction to the cost of conducting the RSA and implementing the countermeasures—were calculated as an additional measure of the project's success. All of the evaluated RSA projects had a B/C ratio greater than 1.0, meaning the project benefits outweighed the project costs. Many of these RSA projects were also discussed in the context of the overall RSA program for each location.
Table 2. Summary of RSA Projects Evaluated.
| Location | Results |
|---|---|
| Bullhead Parkway Bullhead City, Arizona |
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| State Route 101 (Peavine Road) Cumberland County, Tennessee |
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| Intersection of Collier Boulevard and Golden Gate Parkway Collier County, Florida |
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| Immokalee Road Collier County, Florida |
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| Ninth Street Ocean City, New Jersey |
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The RSA programs and projects reviewed for this report represent a small sample of RSA activity throughout the U.S. Many Federal, State, local, and Tribal agencies have experience conducting RSAs and are creating or have created RSA programs. Moving forward, more agencies will be implementing safety measures as a result of RSAs, which will, in turn, provide more opportunities to evaluate the effectiveness of these measures in addressing safety.
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