Harmonised EU Training for Road Safety Inspectors

1. Harmonised EU Training for Road Safety Inspectors Dr Adewole Adesiyun Deputy Secretary-General FEHRL, Brussels BALTRIS Final Conference Palanga, Lithuania 28-29 August 2012

2. Contents • Description of FEHRL • General overview of RSI • PILOT4SAFETY project – training activities • Harmonisation of Inspectors training • Conclusion

3. What is FEHRL? • Formed in 1989 as the organisation of European National Road Research Centres • Currently consists of >30 member institutes – typically state-owned, but all with a public service orientation – employing over 5,000 staff • Facilitates cooperative research projects for European Road Directorates, European Commission and other clients

4. Members and Associates of FEHRL ANAS with UNIFI AIT with TUW BRRC CIRTNENS IGH NPRA CDV DRD IBDIM IP LNEC VUD with Univ. of Žilina CESTRIN LVCELI IFSTTAR ZAG TECER KEDE with NTUA CEDEX KTI RWS-DVS with TNO &TUD VTI ICERA LAVOC BAST TRL NRA with UCD & TCD Derzhdor INRC CSIR FHWA National highway research centres

5. FEHRL’s objectives Through research collaboration, FEHRL’s statutory objectives are to: • Provide scientific input to EU and national government policy on highway engineering and road transport matters. • Create and maintain an efficient and safe road network in Europe. • Increase innovation in European road construction and road-using industries. • Improve the energy efficiency of highway engineering and operations. • Protect the environment and improve quality of life.

6. General overview of RSI I. Definition Directive 2008/96/EC – Road Infrastructure Safety Management ‘safety inspection’ is an ordinary periodical verification of the characteristics and defects that require maintenance work for reasons of safety 5

7. Definition Article 6 of Directive (Safety inspections)  Member States shall ensure that safety inspections are undertaken in respect of the roads in operation in order to identify the road safety related features and prevent accidents;  Safety inspections shall comprise of periodic inspections on the road network and surveys on the possible impact of road works on the safety of the traffic flow;  Member States shall ensure that periodic inspections are undertaken by a competent entity. Such inspections should be frequent enough to safeguard adequate safety levels for the road infrastructure in question. 6

8. Other definitions  According to Phil Allan (2006), an RSI is an on-site systematic review of an existing road or section of road to identify hazardous conditions, faults, deficiencies that may lead to serious accidents.  RiPCORD-iSEREST project definition proposed by Cardoso & al. (2005) RSI is a - A preventive tool; - Consisting of a regular, systematic, on-site inspection of existing roads, covering the whole road network; - Carried out by trained safety expert teams; - Resulting in a formal report on detected road hazards and safety issues; - Requiring a formal response by the relevant road authority. 7

9. RSA & RSI in the general road safety management framework RSA and RSI as part of the Road Safety Management

10. Why do we need RSIs? • Infrastructure is part of the complex system that contributes to the genesis of an accident or the worsening of its consequences • Road authorities must therefore guarantee adequate levels of safety on existing roads. To reach this goal, an advanced road safety management should consider the whole infrastructure life‐cycle itself • RSI, as a preventive measure, play an important role that is reinforced by the Directive 2008/96/EC itself: • “Once road sections with a high accident concentration have been treated and remedial measures have been taken, safety inspections as a preventive measure should assume a more important role. Regular inspections are an essential tool for preventing possible dangers for all road users, including vulnerable users, and also in case of road works” 9

11. When should RSI be carried out? • Driving reasons to start RSI • There is no unique reason that can lead to the decision to start an RSI on a road. It depends mostly on the national safety policy and the network safety management procedures set up by the road authority or operator. • The main reason to start RSI for a road section is the “RSI time schedule” as a periodical task.

12. When should RSI be carried out? • In addition, RSI may be started • As part of programmes on specific road or road site facilities or specific thematic aspects, e.g. RSI on tunnels, level crossings, trees, motorcyclists, night time etc.; • When a reconstruction or rehabilitation project is planned by the road administration in the near future; in this case, the RSI can identify the specific needs regarding the road safety (baseline); • In case of relevant structural changes in the adjacent network or land use, e.g. new motorways with new link roads or the building of a new shopping centre.

13. When should RSI be carried out? • Frequency of inspection and types of RSI • There is no “standard” position for this question. The Directive 2008/96/CE does not impose any obligation or even give any recommendation; it only mentions “periodic inspections of the road network” and stipulates that “inspections shall be sufficiently • frequent to safeguard adequate safety levels”. • Frequency of inspection in some countries: •  Germany - 2 years (on major roads) •  France - 3 years •  Portugal & Hungary – 5 years

14. Partners in the RSI process The Client (usually the road authority or private road operating company) and the inspector (or team of inspectors) participate in the inspection process.

15. Guidelines for RSI • Practical rules for a successful RSI • Inspection conditions • - Time of inspection • - Frequency of use • - Different weather conditions • - Seasonal variation • Approach from the perspective of all road users • Independent and multi-disciplinary approach • Fundamental safety elements

16. Pilot project for common EU Curriculum for road safety experts: training and application on Secondary RoadsDG MOVE project Start date:1 June 2010 Duration: 24 months Budget: € 1.3MPartnersFEHRL – Coordinator ASTRAL Lazio CDV Brno Generalitat de Catalunya Region of Central Macedonia Randers Municipality PILOT4SAFETY

17. The “Pillars” of Directive 2008/96/EC Art. 3 - Road safety impact assessment-RIA Art. 4 - Road safety audit-RSA Art. 5 - Safety ranking and management of the road network in operation Art. 6 - Road safety inspection Art. 9 - Appointment and training of auditors Member States shall ensure ….. training curricula for road safety auditors are adopted by 19 December 2011.

18. The highest number of fatalities occurs on the so-called "secondary roads“ 1-Single carriageway, two lanes 2-Paved road 3-Outside Urban Areas The limits of the Directive When the Directive is adopted by the Member States, it will apply only to TEN-T road network …. but…..

19. Concept and Objectives of the Pilot4Safety Project Pilot4Safety aims to overcome this “barrier”, by using a part of the Directive as a template for safety application on regional roads • Develop curricula and tools for the auditing and inspections of secondary roads in a group of EU regions • Reach an agreement between the regions about acceptance of a common training curricula and exchange of safety experts • Application of RSA, RSI on some road projects and road stretches identified by each regional Authority as a priority in terms of safety

20. Safety Prevention Manual for Secondary Roads • The aim of this manual is to support the training of road safety auditors and road safety inspectors. • Contents: • Introduction • A general road safety part • Road Safety Audit • Road Safety Inspection 19

21. Safety Prevention Manual for Secondary Roads Consolidated definition of RSI as adopted by PILOT4SAFETY “A Road Safety Inspection is a systematic field study organised sufficiently frequently on all existing roads or sections of road to safeguard adequate safety levels”, plus other details. 20

22. Steps: I. Draft Curriculum plan A structured list of items related to RSA & RSI Curriculumfor Road Safety personnel, mainly based on Road Safety Audit and Inspections III. Two Curriculum plans (RSA & RSI) II. Survey amongst partners To be organised in a comprehensive Training Program 21

23. Curriculumfor the Road Safety personnel, mainly based on Road Safety Audit and Inspections STEP I. Draft a Curriculum plan (for RSA & RSI courses) • Relevant EU bibliographic references e.g. EURO-AUDITS ; RiPCORD-iSEREST • EU national practices Through experience from FEHRL umbrella partners e.g. German, Austrian RSA courses A structured list of items related to RSA & RSI 22

24. Curriculumfor the Road Safety personnel, mainly based on Road Safety Audit and Inspections STEP II. Survey amongst partners • Aims of the topics survey were to: • find out the relevance of specific curriculum topics • figure out other (new) relevant topics • define the session length (hours) Grading key for the votes: 23

25. RSA/RSI Curriculum PlansStructure STEP III. Two Curriculum plans • 4 parts/modules: • Preliminary Part • Basics about RSA / RSI • The Audit / Inspection Process • Practical Part • Alignment of this EU-based program to the specific regional/national circumstances! • Interactive – Practical – Participants contribution • Include expectations of the trainees PARTNERS 24

26. RSA/RSI TrainingSelection of the trainees • Selection of the trainees by the participating region; criteria: • Education level; • Professionnal experience; • English language skills; • Availability for the project. Invitation of some additional trainees through partner’s contacts (Italy, Greece, Belgium) 25

27. RSA/RSI TrainingTrainees Profile • 7 participants completed the RSA training • 12 participants completed the RSI training (additional trainees included) 26

28. RSA/RSI training – summary Theory Practice Interaction 4 parts/modules Presentations,Demonstrations, Examples, Discussions Presentations,Case studies, Discussions Presentations, Examples, RSA/RSI by group, Discussions Individual RSA/RSI , Discussion 27

29. RSA/RSI training – summary 45% (5 to 6 days) 15% (2 days) 10% (2 days) 30% (4 days) 28

30. Harmonisation of Auditors and Inspectors Training Why is harmonisation necessary? EC Communication COM (2010) 389 (Towards a European road Safety area: policy orientation on road safety 2011-2020) “The Commission will promote the application of the relevant principles on infrastructure safety management to secondary roads of Member States, in particular through the exchange of best practices”

31. Harmonisation of Auditors and Inspectors Training • A certified European training will comply with EC objective by: • Allowing the cross-national sharing of best practices • Optimising the outputs, due to the (independent) point of view of experts coming from different EU areas • Being a starting point to implement common road safety standards for the European road network • Underlining that the safety issues should not stop/change at borders

32. Harmonisation of Auditors and Inspectors Training A common/harmonised European training will be the first step to getting a common high level of road safety on all roads across the EU member states. By having safety personnel with a harmonised technical background, similar road safety solutions will be adopted for similar road safety problems

33. Next steps to common EU training of road safety experts

34. Next steps to common EU training of road safety experts • Objectives: • Provide recommendations to stakeholders to support their objectives in term of best practice exchange and the continuous improvement of safety management practices • Support member states in their efforts to implement RSA/RSI on the secondary road network • It sets the basis for the establishment of a common training for European road safety auditors and inspectors

35. Next steps to common EU training of road safety experts • The report contains: • Recommendations regarding RSA/RSI training • Recommendations regarding practical RSA/RSI on secondary roads • Conclusions and open issues

36. Recommendations regarding RSA/RSI training • Length of training • - recommended length = 8 working days in the classroom (including • theory and practical exercises), plus some homework • - in total, about 100 hours including homework, which is consistent • with the extent of training organised in PILOT4SAFETY •  Number of trainees • - optimal size of the training class = 8-10 trainees • - a mixture of different nationalities within the course

37. Recommendations regarding RSA/RSI training • Skills and knowledge of the trainees • The trainees should have some kind of Europe-wide homologated engineering training (e.g. equivalent of university degree) and at least three years of experience in road design and/or road safety engineering and/or accident analysis. •  Structure of the training

38. Recommendations regarding RSA/RSI training • Final examination • The training should end with the final practical exercise, which should at the very least be in a semi-real situation (meaning the whole audit or inspection process should be covered, i.e. from the ordering of the audit/inspection to the presentation of the results to the client).

39. Recommendations regarding practical RSI on secondary roads • International composition of the RSI team • The international character of the inspection team does not cause any serious problems • The presence of visiting inspectors was considered as beneficial by all involved parties • There were no general barriers identified; only language and unfamiliarity with local conditions were mentioned as potential issues • The exchange of knowledge and increased respect from local authorities were the most beneficial factors mentioned

40. Recommendations regarding practical RSI on secondary roads • Procedures • RSI team • It is strongly recommended that the RSI is carried out by a team of at • least two inspectors • Checklists • The usage of checklists should not been mandatory during the • inspection, but it is recommended to use them, especially after • conducting the inspection, to ensure that no safety critical issue has • been forgotten

41. Recommendations regarding practical RSI on secondary roads • Procedures • Safety of the inspection team and other road users • When inspecting using a car driving slower than the usual traffic, it is • important to use a car equipped with warning signs/marking or a • switchable flashing light(s) mounted on the roof • Point of view of all road users • It is vital that the inspection is not only car-oriented. It is necessary to • check the safety issues from the point of view of all road users (e.g. • pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and children) as well as to inspect • not only the major road, but the crossings or side roads as well.

42. Recommendations regarding practical RSI on secondary roads • Procedures • Recommendations for safety improvements • Recommendations should be elaborated in a general way, and should • not replace the work of the road operator. The inspector or RSI team • must highlight the potential road safety deficiencies and risks and may • give recommendations if necessary, but the solutions must be • prepared by the client • Ranking • The RSI report could indicate the relative importance of each • deficiency and therefore assist the client in making appropriate • decisions. This is done using language forms such as “must”, “should” • or “consideration should be given to” within the recommendations, • or by adding expressions like “highly recommended”, “potential high • impact”, “suggestions to consider”

43. Recommendations regarding practical RSI on secondary roads • Procedures • Client’s formal response • The responsible road authority shall prepare a written statement • outlining the actions taken and the justification for the decision if no • actions were taken. Both the inspection report and the formal • response together form the documentation for conducting the • inspection

44. Conclusions • Objective achieved (Training of at least two road safety personnel from each participating Region) • Effective structure of the training in 4 consecutive modules • Module 1: complete review of the necessary basics • Modules 2 & 3: appropriate and progressive practical training of the RSA and RSI procedures • Module 4: Check & consolidation of knowledge • Mixed learning method (theoretical/practical) 43

45. Conclusions • About the interest of a common training at EU level: • unique opportunity to exchange about rules, practices & experiences • step towards a common high level of road safety in EU 44

46. Acknowledgements The PILOT4SAFETY team

47. Thanks for your attention http://www.fehrl.org info@fehrl.org