Risk Management Principles of Transportation Facility Design Engineering

Accidents continue to occur on our transportation facilities. People injured in these accidents continue to file lawsuits against transportation agencies, in part because the language used in published standards for design and maintenance contain deficiencies. Risk management is the organized approach to preventing or reducing lawsuits. Past risk management research has focused almost exclusively on identifying the physical characteristics of a road that are most often the subject of lawsuits. No attention has been given to the question of whether the language of design standards influences the frequency of lawsuits. This author suggests that written design standards be reviewed and possibly redrafted to reduce the frequency of lawsuits. Language in design standards that is clear, objective, quantifiable, reasonable, and qualified will best serve this goal. When engineers choose to deviate from published standards, a written explanation for the deviation should be prepared.