Clear answers to common Road Safety Audit questions

A Road Safety Audit is a formal, independent assessment of the road safety implications of a highway scheme. It considers how the proposed or completed scheme may operate for different road users and identifies features that could contribute to collisions or increase their severity.

No. An audit may refer to relevant standards or guidance, but its primary purpose is to identify road safety problems. It does not replace the designer's responsibility for technical compliance, design quality or risk management.

An audit should be commissioned as early as the relevant project stage permits. Early consideration gives the design team more opportunity to address concerns without causing delay or abortive work. The relevant highway authority or overseeing organisation should confirm which audit stages are required.

The Road Safety Audit team must be independent of the design team. The precise independence and approval requirements depend on the applicable standard and overseeing organisation's procedures.

No highway scheme can be guaranteed to be entirely free from risk. An audit provides an independent assessment intended to identify foreseeable road safety problems and opportunities to reduce risk.

The design organisation and overseeing organisation consider each audit problem and recommendation through the applicable response and decision process. If a recommendation is not accepted, the reasons and any alternative action should be recorded in accordance with the applicable procedure.

Yes. Simply RSA can provide Road Safety Audits undertaken in accordance with DMRB GG 119. The applicable procedure will be confirmed at the start because a local highway authority may have supplementary requirements, templates or variations.

Our audit teams include SoRSA members and National Highways Road Safety Audit Certificate of Competency holders. The proposed team is selected according to the audit stage, location, scale and complexity of the scheme and the requirements of the relevant overseeing organisation.

Yes. Simply RSA can propose suitably experienced audit teams and produce Road Safety Audits in accordance with TfL S2251 A1, formerly SQA-0170. For third-party schemes, the proposed audit team must be verified and approved by TfL before the audit begins.

No. SQA-0170 was TfL's previous Road Safety Audit procedure. It was replaced by S2251 A1 Road Safety Audit in October 2025. S2251 A1 is used with DMRB GG 119 and contains TfL's current specific requirements.

The Road Safety Audit Certificate of Competency is held by an individual auditor. It demonstrates that the auditor has satisfied the applicable training, experience and assessment requirements. It is not a company accreditation.

SoRSA is the Society of Road Safety Auditors, a specialist society within the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation. Membership supports professional practice and continuing development in Road Safety Audit.

Yes. Site visits are arranged where required by the audit stage, audit brief and applicable procedure.

Simply RSA can undertake commissions throughout the UK, subject to the applicable national standards, local highway-authority requirements, project location and audit-team requirements.

Timescales depend on the scheme's size, complexity, audit stage, location and the quality of the information provided. We agree the delivery programme before accepting the commission.