Message ‘From the Chair’ - Den Symons

Welcome to our latest SoRSA Newsletter and as usual my ‘From the Chair’ update.

Since our last newsletter in July, where I mentioned my pending retirement from National Highways, I can confirm that this happened on the 30 September 2022. The first few weeks has been rather strange, with not having to rush around answering emails etc. I did celebrate this event with a vacation to Florida, where I had the experience of meeting Hurricane IAN. Thankfully, we all survived, as the hurricane raced through the State, and I can now say that I have been in one.

Moving on, I would still like to encourage you all to use the LEARN digital learning platform. CIHT are looking at members CPD on an annual basis and it would be embarrassing if any of our members did not keep an ‘Up to Date’ record for any request to verify your CPD. LEARN does give you the opportunity to keep all your evidence in one place. SoRSA are continuing with ‘Face to Face’ events, with the latest being the Scottish event in September. We are in the planning for some more webinars in 2023. So, this should help with you all attaining the minimum of 25hrs CPD, which is double of your GG 119 requirements.

Now for an update on the 2023 Annual Review which I will cover briefly, as this information has been included in this Newsletter. Basically, we have taken note of the comments that have come back from our members during the 2022 review. All the changes have been covered in the update from Lyn Turner, Membership Secretary, as detailed below.

I have just received the latest quarterly report from my previous employers, National Highways. This one seems to be rather light in content, so are we getting things right or have the bad ones slipped through. I leave that thought with you to ponder! The report can be found below.

The committee are still finalising details for next year's Annual Workshop & Conference and there may be a change of location from Manchester. Watch this space and we will update you as soon as possible, so that you can hopefully make the necessary arrangements to attend this two-day event in 2023.

Finally, the SoRSA committee are always looking for new members to join and we are not a closed shop, as some have expressed previously. New blood is always a good thing, especially in this rapid changing society and with advancing technology. We have included below the upcoming vacancies which are due at the next AGM, which should be held around June 2023. All committee posts are for a three-year term, and you can serve no more than two terms, which is in line with CIHT Council, then you must take a 12-month break. Details of SoRSA Membership and the forthcoming committee vacancies are covered below.

Many thanks again for your continual support of SoRSA and I look forward to seeing you all again soon.

However, if in the meantime you have any questions or concerns that you would like me to address, please do not hesitate to contact me via the email address sorsa@ciht.org.uk

Changes to the 2023 SoRSA Annual Review process

The 2023 SoRSA annual review process will be carried out as follows: In January, a ‘self-certification’ survey will be sent to all members including Associates & Affiliates, which a return will be mandatory by all members. Failure to return the ‘self-certification’ survey will result in a call for a full Annual Review from Members and Fellows

The survey will ask our members if they have:
- A minimum of 2 days CPD in the field of RSA, collision data analysis or road safety engineering in the last 12 months
- A minimum of 2 years of collision data analysis or road safety engineering/road design experience
- 5 RSAs completed within the last 24 months as team leader, member, or observer
- A free text box to explain why the above has not been achieved (Members and Fellows)
- A tick box to express an interest in becoming a committee member when spaces are available
- A tick box to express an interest in upgrading membership
- A tick box if interested in being paired with a mentor from SoRSA

• All Fellows and Members be subject to a random sample screening for their annual review.
• If you are selected, you will need to provide your up-to-date Road Safety Audit CV (compliant to GG 119 or your equivalent standard) and an RSA report written by themselves and not containing any more than 6 problems.
• SoRSA/CIHT will check compliance from the January survey and base the random samples on the results.
• If you are chosen to submit an annual review it will be during February and March.
• Fellows and Members will all be free to submit an Annual Review if they wish without being selected by SoRSA, you may wish to do this on a yearly basis, during the months of February and March.
• All employers are free to contact SoRSA to confirm a SoRSA membership and/or to obtain advice on compliance of an RSA report.
• All information put forward to the SoRSA assessors will be double blind.
• SoRSA will add the date of your last review on the public SoRSA Register of Membership list on the SoRSA webpage if you agree for your name to be displayed.

SoRSA Membership

Affiliate Members
Have you sat on our membership list as an affiliate for a while, do you meet the requirements of GG 119 Team Observer status, then why not upgrade your membership to Associate level.

Associate Members
Have you sat on our membership list as an associate for a while, do you meet the requirements of GG 119 Team member status, then why not upgrade your membership to Member level.

All membership forms can be found at CIHT - Join SoRSA.

SoRSA Committee

Did you know that regardless of the level of your membership you are all welcome to join the committee as and when a vacancy become available.

We host 4 committee meetings a year, typically in February, April, September, and December with our Annual General Meeting hosted at the SoRSA Annual Conference in June.

Whilst we try and meet in person for the committee meetings, which are hosted around the UK, all meetings are carried out via Microsoft Teams too, so you do not need to be UK based.

In June 2023, at our Annual General Meeting, we will be looking for the following committee places to be filled, full details on applying for these positions will come out mid 2023:

• Honorary Secretary – who is responsible for ensuring the wishes of the Committee are carried out.
• SoRSA Events Officer – manage and liaise with others internally and externally to prepare the SoRSA conference and other regional events and webinars.
• SoRSA Web Officer – manage and keep updated the SoRSA webpages hosted by CIHT website.
• Ordinary Committee Member to represent Ireland on the committee to manage the day to day running of SoRSA in the interests of our Irish members.
• Ordinary Committee Member x 2 to represent all member of SoRSA to manage the day to day running of SoRSA in the interest of all our members.

As a committee member, you will play an active role in moving SoRSA forward for the benefit of our membership. You will make decisions within the committee on a variety of subjects and be happy to be held joint accountable for decisions and actions taken by the committee. You will be responsible for ensuring that all decisions are taken in the best interests of SoRSA and that everyone role is carried out effectively and without prejudice. Please review the SoRSA Constitution for more information.

Further Information 

The latest National Highways Road Safety Audit Quarterly Review is available. This newsletter provides road safety auditors, designers, and other road safety professionals with an update on current road safety audit and other general road safety related issues, in addition to the review of Road Safety Audit (RSA) reports.

For any other queries please contact regions@ciht.org.uk