Brasilia: IRF sets minimum qualifications for safety audits

The International Road Federation has released a set of minimum qualification guidelines for professionals conducting road safety audits and inspections as part of a global road safety gathering held in Brasilia. Design standards alone don’t guarantee road safety in all conditions, said IRF executive vice president Michael Dreznes, speaking at the Global High Level Conference on Road Safety held in the Brazilian federal capital of Brasilia.
November 20, 2015 Read time: 2 mins

The 713 International Road Federation has released a set of minimum qualification guidelines for professionals conducting road safety audits and inspections as part of a global road safety gathering held in Brasilia.

Design standards alone don’t guarantee road safety in all conditions, said IRF executive vice president Michael Dreznes, speaking at the Global High Level Conference on Road Safety held in the Brazilian federal capital of Brasilia.

"The IRF strongly supports the extended and expanded use of road infrastructure safety management procedures using locally drawn talent trained to the highest standards," said Dreznes.

Poorly performed or badly documented road safety audits can have negative effects on safety. Unqualified team leaders could miss obvious safety concerns resulting in an unsafe road. Worse yet, the road authority would be using its limited financial resources to conduct these audits with less than acceptable results.
 
The IRF also renewed an earlier call for the mandatory introduction of, and associated funding for, road safety audits linked to all new road investment loans by multilateral development banks.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Preventive maintenance - preserving pavements
    February 14, 2012
    In the first article of a three-part series on preventive maintenance, Alan S. Kercher, of Kercher Engineering, highlights the value to road agencies of a properly implemented pavement preservation programme For many road agencies, the budget for maintenance, rehabilitation and reconstruction (MR&R) of their roads is focused mainly on the pavements that are in the worst condition. In the short term, this common approach may seem very logical. However, when focused on expensive structural improvements,
    Read More
  • EU budget dispute?
    February 28, 2012
    There is both praise and concern in Europe over plans for a new fund to cover transport, energy and telecoms infrastructure projects.
    Read More
  • Rural roads important to global development
    April 12, 2012
    Maryvonne Plessis-Fraissard highlights that the key importance of rural roads in the context of global development is only now being fully recognised, is not receiving enough attention and is facing vital new challenges Rural roads have only relatively recently received attention in development research. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, or World Bank, moved away from the World War II reconstruction mandate during the early 1960s to start, and address, the "Third World" developme
    Read More
  • Safer roads needed for the gig economy
    May 14, 2019
    Roads everywhere are becoming high-pressure workplaces for millions of gig economy workers, meaning traffic police need a new way to regulate how highways are used. Geoff Hadwick reports from Manchester, UK The way in which the world’s highways are designed, built and used needs to change fast as the gig economy becomes a global phenomenon. Millions of low-paid and badly-trained freelance drivers are now using road as their workplace, all of them working hard under huge amounts of pressure. The tren
    Read More

Highlighted Content