THE ROAD SAFETY Authority has only published provisional data on road traffic collisions for the past five years due to GDPR concerns.

The issue was raised in a written Dáil question last month by Labour leader Ivana Bacik.

She asked if Transport Minister Eamon Ryan’s attention has been “drawn to the fact that the Road Safety Authority has not published any data on road traffic collisions since 2016”.

She then asked when up-to-date data would be made available.

In response, Minister of State at the Department of Transport Hildegarde Naughton said she was advised that “in light of GDPR requirements, the RSA is currently reviewing their road traffic collision data sharing policies and procedures”.

Minister Naughton added that “individual record-level data cannot be shared until this review is concluded over the coming months”.

One this review is completed, Minister Naughton said the “RSA expect to implement revised policies and procedures to permit GDPR compliant access to relevant RTC data”.

She then pointed to “provisional aggregated data” that the RSA has been publishing in the meantime.

The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, was adopted in 2016 and came into force on 25 May, 2018.

GDPR’s primary aim is to enhance people’s control and rights to their personal data.

According to the RSA’s research department, all data from 2018 onwards is “provisional and subject to change”.

In a statement to The Journal, a spokesperson for the RSA confirmed that it is in the process of reviewing its road traffic collision data sharing policies and procedures.

The spokesperson explained that this is being done “in light of the fact that the data must be treated as personal data in order to comply with GDPR demands”.

They added: “Record-level RTC data cannot be shared until this review is complete but we expect this to be finalised in the coming months.”

“At that point, the RSA will have new policies and procedures in place for access to RTC information and data,” said the spokesperson, who also highlighted the RSA’s provisional aggregated data.

“These new policies and procedures will be underpinned by a variety of legislative instruments, as well as specific measures designed to share data in a GDPR compliant manner.”

Making a difference

A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can make sure we can keep reliable, meaningful news open to everyone regardless of their ability to pay.

Support us Learn More