Highway inspection policy

Highway safety inspections will be carried out to specified frequencies documented above where reasonably practicable.  On occasions there may be unforeseen events which may impact on the frequency of inspections such as severe weather.  Table 3 details the performance tolerances which will be applied to highway safety inspection frequencies.

Table 3 – Inspection Tolerances

Note: all time periods are in calendar days

An example of how inspection tolerances are calculated is detailed below: -

An inspection of a footway/carriageway is required every 31 days. If there is an unforeseen delay in undertaking an inspection on day 31 then the highway inspector has up to day 36 to complete the inspection. For example, an inspection was undertaken on 4^th January. The next inspection is due on 7^th February but has a tolerance of 5 days which means it must be completed by 12^th February. 

Alternatively, if an inspector is ahead of schedule in their safety inspections then the next inspection can be brought forward by up to 5 calendar days. For example, an inspection was undertaken on 4^th January. The next inspection is due on the 7^th February but can be undertaken on 30^th January 2018 at the earliest.

In the interest of public safety, it is important that the inspection frequency regime is adhered to and within the tolerances specified above in Table 3. Additionally, the Authority’s Section 58 defence is highly dependent on regular inspections and every effort will be made to keep to the programme. In the event that inspection tolerances are exceeded, efforts will be made to ensure that the inspection regime of streets in the upper range of the hierarchy is adhered to as these streets, by definition, present a greater risk to the public.