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Published: 20 March 2019

FGSV-Symposium "Road Safety with Auditor's Forum"

On March 18th and 19th this year's "Symposium for Road Safety with Auditor's Forum" took place at Bauhaus Universität Weimar, which was attended by more than 220 participants. At the annual conference, current research results in the field of traffic safety are presented and discussed together. The event is primarily aimed at road safety auditors.

The Road and Transportation Research Association (FGSV) and the Chair of Transport System Planning of Bauhaus-Universität organized the symposium in cooperation with the Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt), the Deutscher Verkehrssicherheitsrat (DVR) as well as the Bergische Universität Wuppertal (Department of Road Traffic Planning and Engineering), where the symposium will take place a second time on March 25th and 26th.

It is mainly used for the further education of road safety auditors, who assess the road safety of road designs in a formalized and standardized procedure in all planning phases, but also for existing road traffic facilities. The aim is to avoid possible safety deficits already during the planning process and thus to consider the interest of road safety requirements and to avoid accidents.

On the first day of the symposium, representatives of the Ministry of Transport of Baden-Württemberg, the Autobahndirektion Südbayern, the Technical University of Dresden, the BASt, the German Insurers Accident Research (UDV) as well as various engineering offices reported on the current developments and findings in road safety research. For example, the "Traffic Safety Screening Baden-Württemberg" (system for evaluating accident data) and the web application SAS in the Bavarian Road Information System for digital support within the audit procedure were presented. Further topics were the updating of the guidelines for the construction of motorways (RAA), wildlife accident prevention, the evaluation of the traffic safety program in Münster, the use and traffic safety of pedestrian crossings, the abolition of the obligation to use cycle paths as well as the safety of marked cycle traffic facilities.

On the second day of the conference, a conclusion was drawn after 15 years of application of the road safety audit in Germany. Afterwards, the so-called auditor’s forum traditionally took place. The safety auditors had the opportunity to present special examples of their own safety audits and to discuss any questions together with the audience.

Further good news was also announced at the symposium: The new guidelines for road safety audits (RSAS), which will replace the previously valid recommendations (ESAS), were officially introduced at the end of February with the General Circular of the BMVI.