Road safety audit in Ústí nad Labem

CIVITAS Initiative

A road safety audit aims to increase the quality of urban space towards encouraging safe walking and cycling in the city and reducing the number of road accidents. Independent professionals carried out a safety audit and developed an action plan. Data about local accidents was studied to identify the necessary safety actions and to determine how to implement speed reduction actions in the city. Based on the findings, actions will be implemented and supported by campaigns.

The Safety audit assessed the current state of traffic infrastructure in Ústí nad Labem and revealed safety threads. The task was performed in following fields:• development of methodology• training of personnel• selection of accident localities• on spot inspections of the accident localities in terms of safety shortcomings, traffic load, potential for accidents and other hazards• proposal of actions, assessment of costs and benefits• measurements of traffic speed by static radars• analysis of traffic flow characteristics based on measurements• collecting data from local school and preschool facilities • on spot safety inspections by the local school and preschool facilities• analysis of traffic safety situation at school and preschool facilities • on spot inspection of all the major roads in the city• analysis of the current safety conditions of major local roads, identification of safety threads and proposal of corrective actions. City employees were trained by certified auditor and by transport experts to become familiar with road safety problems, systematic procedures for safety improvements, road safety data collection, assessment of accidents revealing safety threads and the corresponding legislative background. A handbook about the methodology was elaborated and used during the training sessions as a study aid. Employees were afterwards directly involved in the process of the safety inspections under the guidance of the experts and gained valuable theoretical and practical experience.Local traffic accidents were analysed from the records of the Municipal Police database in Ústí nad Labem. Particular emphasis was laid on the circumstances of accidents and the consequences with respect to the protection of sensitive personal data. Based on this information, critical accidental localities were identified. Specific road profiles were selected for radar measurements of traffic speed and of other characteristics of the traffic flow. All the collected data was evaluated. Major roads in the city and roads with the majority of road accidents were selected for safety inspections. It was carried out by a floating vehicle, which was recording videos of each route, encoding road parameters, tracing its location by GPS and detecting safety deficits by a specific tablet with software. Based on the training, city personnel were directly involved in the inspections under the leadership of traffic experts. All data were analysed by the inspection team. Captured videos and collected data were archived. Questionnaires about road safety threads were distributed to all directors of local primary and secondary schools and preschools. The answers were processed and served as a basis for road safety inspections by local school facilities conducted by traffic experts. The results were discussed with the directors to find the most suitable solutions. City employees repeatedly participated in a conference Safe transport infrastructure and risk management organised annually for national and international participants. The focus of the lectures was on causes and consequences of traffic accidents, on safety issues of local roads and on preventive, constructional, technical, administrative and repressive solutions.

Author: Katerina Oktabcova

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