The Road Safety Auditor (RSA) course offers a hands-on training program that develops the skills to assess traffic risks and improve road safety elements across all phases: Planning, design, implementation, and post-operation. The course is based on safe system principles and combines a theoretical framework with field applications and modern analysis tools to produce high-quality, actionable audit reports.

Title of the course: Road Safety auditor course
Duration: More than 35 training hours - 10 intensive practical lectures

Target audience

• Road Safety Engineer
• Traffic Engineer
• Transportation Planner
• Highway Design Engineer
• Project Supervisory Engineer
• Road Safety Technician or Monitor
• Road Projects Manager
• Director of Traffic Safety Department
• Operations and Maintenance Manager

Learning objectives

By the end of the Road Safety auditor RSA course, the trainee will be able to:

• Apply safe system principles to urban and highway projects.
• Perform safety audits in the pre-design, detailed design, pre-opening, and post-operation phases.
• Use tools to collect and analyze data, black cases, accident rates, and risk maps.
• Evaluate the safety of pedestrians, cyclists, public transportation users, and people with disabilities.
• Formulate practical recommendations and estimate implementation priorities, cost, and expected impact.
• Prepare professional safety audit reports that meet regulatory requirements and legal responsibilities.

Themes and detailed content

1) Secure System Principles

• The risk control pyramid and the principle of human error tolerance
• Safe speed and matching kinetic energy to human body capacity
• Elements of a safe road, safe vehicle, safe road users and post-accident response

2) Safety Audit Stages

• Pre-Design Concept/Feasibility RSA
• Initial and detailed design review
• Pre-opening audit
• Post-opening audit
• Scope of work, audit team, independence, ethics

3) Analysis and evaluation tools

• Sources of data: Accidents, speeds, traffic volumes, conflicts, field observation
• Identifying Conflict Points and Analyzing Intersections
• Cut-off and Empirical Bayes techniques and performance indicators
• Using checklists and reference forms

4) Safety of pedestrians, cyclists and vulnerable road users

• Crossing design, trip lengths, visibility, pedestrian crossing time
• Bike lanes, side guards, low-speed zones
• Disability accessibility, sidewalk design, ramp design, ramp slopes
• Around schools, hospitals, and public transportation stations

5) Reporting and Recommendations

• Structure of the RSA report: Executive Summary, Methodology, Results, Risk Matrix, Recommendations
• Estimating the expected impact on safety and prioritizing implementation
• Post-Audit Review and Closure Mechanism

6) Legal and Governance Responsibilities

• Limits of responsibility of the safety auditor, the owner and the consultant
• Proper documentation of assumptions and observations, managing conflicts, communicating with stakeholders
• Record-keeping and transparency policies and approval requirements

Proposed Lecture Plan (10 lectures)

1. Introduction to the Road Safety auditor RSA course and safe system principles
2. RSA phases, audit scopes and team formation
3. Data, black cases and performance indicators
4. Analyze incident locations, intersections, and conflict points
5. Safety of pedestrians, cyclists and vulnerable users
6. Speeds, traffic calming, side guards
7. Virtual field visits and case studies
8. Prepare practical recommendations, prioritization and cost estimates
9. Writing a safety audit report and presenting it to the authorities
10. Final project: Full RSA report for Mukhtar's site

Projects and Practicality

• A case study of an urban street and a major intersection
• Review of highway design and entry and exit exits
• A brief pre-opening RSA report for an infrastructure project
• A risk matrix with actionable recommendations and a timeline

The tools and templates you get

• Safety checklists for urban and highway safety audits
• Professional customizable RSA report template
• Risk Matrix and Priority Matrix Templates
• Illustrated guide to field visit procedures and documentation

Assessment and Accreditation Mechanism

• Short exercises after each axis
• Final project and brief presentation
• Certificate of completion of the Road Safety auditor RSA course upon passing the requirements

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a safety audit and a design review?
An audit focuses on hazards, user behavior, and operational safety, while a design review focuses on technical conformance to specifications.

Does the auditor need special privileges?
Independence from the design/implementation team is required, with appropriate experience and training in RSA methodology.

Is the audit performed before or after implementation?
It is carried out at all stages: Before design, during design, before opening, and after operation, to ensure that risks are captured and addressed early.

Organizational benefits

• Reduce accident rates and severity
• Optimize user experience and minimize downtime
• Clearer investment priorities in low-cost, high-impact interventions
• Stronger legal documentation and reduced operational risk

Coach: Elhady Mohamed

Introducing the trainer:

• • PhD researcher in business administration and civil engineer specializing in infrastructure projects and road safety.
  • He has more than 16 years of experience in the design, implementation and maintenance of road projects, with a special focus on safety auditing and accident investigation.
  • Current position: Senior Safety Engineer at the Ministry of Transportation and Logistics - Eastern Province, as part of the safety audit project implemented by Eurogroup Engineering Consultants.

• Professional accreditations:

• • Road Safety Professional (RSP1-SA) - Certified by the American Board of Transportation Engineers (ITE).
  • Road Safety Audit Team Leader - certified by the International Road Federation (IRF).
  • Road Safety Auditor (RSA) - certified in several Australian states.
  • Certified instructor and lecturer in Defensive Driving.
  • He holds a NEBOSH certification from the British Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
  • Professional certifications in project management: PMP - P3O - PMO-CP.

• Highlights:

• Participated in the world's largest road assessment project within the iRAP program in Saudi Arabia in collaboration with the Eastern Province Municipality.
• Conducted more than 200 investigations into fatal traffic accidents, including analyzing the causes and making technical recommendations to improve safety.
• He has trained hundreds of engineers and specialists through advanced courses such as: RSE - RSP - DDS - TMP - ITSS - RSC.