Road collision data-sharing with local authorities ‘to resume’ later this year

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) has told The Echo that it is hoped that the sharing of collision data with local authorities will be able to resume later this year.

It comes as representatives highlighted the importance of this data, which has not been shared in more than six years, to prevent future accidents, with Green Party councillor Oliver Moran telling The Echo: “I’m frustrated with the RSA.”

Mr Moran explained that he was in contact with them last November to find information about incidents in the Kilcully area, where a pedestrian safety scheme needs to be accelerated, and said: “Without actual data from the RSA, it’s more difficult to gather the evidence to make those arguments.

“Instead, we’re left looking back over newspaper reports to put the arguments together, but incidents like joyriding or non-fatal accidents don’t always make it to the newspapers, and it’s sometimes hard even to narrow down exactly where the incident happened.

“The previous map of collisions on the RSA website was really clear and useful, but that’s not being updated now.

“One of the basic democratic functions of the RSA should be to make that information available to residents and public representatives. Instead, we’re being deflected by them over a supposed issue with GDPR that they’ve never fully explained.”

Query

Labour Party Cork City South-East candidate Peter Horgan told The Echo that GDPR had not been mentioned when he was denied incident data by the Department of Justice after the Department of Transport had directed his query to them.

He and Sean Sherlock TD had asked the departments for the number of incidents at several crash hotspots in Cork.

They asked them again afterwards, “why GDPR was not given as a reason for data withholding”, and were told: “Garda authorities can confirm that GDPR was not, at any point, a factor when responding to the deputy’s previous query.

“The reason, as stated in the previous response, that information cannot be provided, is that it would require a disproportionate expenditure of Garda time and resources to compile.”

Mr Horgan said that the data could help to clear accidents and reduce traffic jams as a result of them, as in Europe, where a truck is kept on standby in areas where crashes are frequent.

It could also help decide where to prioritise road-safety measures, whether that be improving roads or a permanently placed speed van, but “without data, we can’t make decisions”, he said.

Gatekeeping data

He said that the Department of Transport had a “hands-off approach in dealing with traffic collisions in Cork”, and said that both departments are “gatekeeping that data”, and that “we should be demanding better, otherwise there will be more crashes and more people will lose their lives”.

A spokesperson for the RSA told The Echo: “Legal advice highlighted concerns about GDPR compliance regarding data that was being shared with stakeholders.”

They explained that a cross-government group is being led by the RSA to resolve the issue of data-sharing, and “extensive work is ongoing in this area”, including workshops with An Garda Síochána and meetings with local authorities and the Department of Transport (DoT), and that “a consultation pack is being developed for submission to the Data Protection Commissioner in Q2 of 2024.

“In parallel with the above, the DoT is examining the possibility of An Garda Síochána sharing a subset of more limited collision data directly with local authorities, and is expected to engage with the Data Protection Commissioner on this proposal shortly.

“Between the two ongoing workstreams noted above, it is hoped that the sharing of collision data with local authorities will be able to resume later this year.”