6.1.3.4 Road Safety Assessments (RSAs)

One method of supplementing field visits is to follow the formal RSA process as defined in the FHWA Road Safety Audit Guidelines Report (Publication No. FHWA-SA-06-06). The typical RSA includes the following eight steps:
  • Step 1 – Identify project or road to be audited.
  • Step 2 – Select an interdisciplinary RSA team that is independent from the project team.
  • Step 3 – Conduct a pre-assessment meeting to review project information.
  • Step 4 – Perform field observations under various conditions.
  • Step 5 – Conduct assessment analysis and prepare report of findings.
  • Step 6 – Present assessment findings to the project owner.
  • Step 7 – Project owner prepares formal response.
  • Step 8 – Incorporate findings into the project, when appropriate.
RSAs can be performed for both existing conditions and proposed design. Generally, projects with the following characteristics benefit from an RSA:
  • Projects (intersection or road segment) with a low record of safety performance; Traffic and Safety Analysis Procedures Manual | 2024 6-8
  • Projects with safety issues from stakeholders;
  • Projects identified during network screening as having lower than expected safety performance; and
  • Projects using context-sensitive design principles
Additional information about the RSA process is available on the FHWA RSA website, which can be found in
Appendix G, Section 5 – External References (Reference 2)
.