Reading a road safety audit without crying
There's a special moment in every scheme. The design is finished, you're quietly proud of it, and then the road safety audit lands in your inbox.
For anyone outside the trade, an audit is an independent team looking at your design purely through the lens of 'what could go wrong here?'. They're very good at it. That's the point. It's still a bit like handing your homework to the strictest teacher in school.
Over the years we've organised a fair few audits, and responded to plenty more. A few things we've learned:
- Don't take it personally. The auditors aren't saying you're a bad engineer. They're saying a cyclist might clip that bollard at dusk. Both can be true.
- Read the problem, not just the recommendation. Sometimes the suggested fix isn't the only fix, and a better one is sitting right there.
- Write the designer's response like someone will read it in ten years. Because they might.
- Brief the team properly. A good audit brief, with the right drawings and the right background, saves everybody a lot of guesswork.
- The one about the missing tactile paving is always fair. Always. Just add it.
We genuinely like audits. A good audit team picks up things that a design team, deep in the detail, can walk straight past. The schemes we're proudest of have usually had a good grilling along the way.
That said, if you ever receive an audit with no problems raised at all, frame it. Then check it's actually for your scheme….
If you need an audit organised, or a hand answering one, give us a shout.