Traffic rules and responsibility?

During my work, I often get questions about the role of 'Accountable'. When do we use it, and what is the difference with the one that is 'Responsible'? I think this is because people do not have a clear understanding of the principles or use them differently than intended. Clear principles are essential for the correct use of the RASCI model. I am writing this blog to bring more clarity to this and to avoid confusion. Ultimately, we want more clarity in responsibilities, right?

I often hear the term 'final responsible' when there is discussion or confusion. And that is precisely the term that leads to confusion. Let me explain with an example, what that would sound like.

To this end, I will use the example of a car driver's responsibility (R) to adhere to the traffic rules. A responsibility that you receive as soon as you participate in traffic. But what about the role of Accountable here, if you explain it as 'final responsible'? What happens if you give the role of Accountable to the competent authority, for example, a police officer who can stop you? Is the police finally responsible for the driver's behavior? That seems very strange to me. But how do we explain the role of the competent authority?

How?

First, is the theory. R is the person responsible for the realization of the task in question, within the framework set by A. A is the person who sets the framework and to whom R is accountable for the task in question. The A and the R can never belong to the same person, because you cannot be accountable to yourself.

The task we are talking about here is adhering to the traffic rules and the driver is Responsible for this (R). The frameworks have been drawn up by the competent authority, in the form of traffic rules and traffic signs. The competent authority is therefore Accountable (A) for this task. According to the above explanation, the competent authority is the one to whom the driver is Accountable if there is a deviation from the framework (for example the maximum speed). The competent authority can then speak to a driver about his behavior (driving too fast) and hold him Accountable by stopping the driver. The driver must then justify to the competent authority for his behavior (whether or not he adheres to certain traffic rules).

With this explanation, responsibilities become crystal clear and we consciously avoid the word 'final responsible'. Because that is simply the same as being responsible, the difference is in taking responsibility. The driver is also the person standing before the judge when things have gotten out of hand, to justify the behavior to the judge (= competent authority).

'Explain to whom someone is accountable,
instead of wondering who is 'final responsible'.