Page 3967 - Week 09 - Thursday, 25 August 2011
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currently contemplated should be subject to a rigorous assessment of their impact on human rights, including the right to privacy.
Another matter raised by the OAIC was the direction from which point-to-point cameras will photograph vehicles. The OAIC suggested that, if the government intends that only images showing the rather of the vehicle should be taken, that direction should be mandated in legislation. I can advise members that, while it is the government’s preference for practical reasons to photograph vehicles from the rear, it is not always possible to situate cameras to achieve this outcome.
I can confirm that the point-to-point cameras installed on Hindmarsh Drive will photograph the rear of vehicles. All except one of the existing fixed speed and red light cameras in the territory also take images from the rear. The single forward-facing camera was placed that way because, after the mounting for the camera was installed, it was discovered that the unique combination of topography and adjacent structures caused severe interference with the signal to the camera and an accurate signal could be obtained only for front-facing images in that particular location.
It is also worth noting that mobile camera vans have the option of taking images either from the front or from the rear. The factors that affect the direction from which an image will be taken include the width of the street where the van is set up and safety factors. These issues include general traffic safety factors, such as the potential for collisions and the job safety risks to the camera operators. The government is developing guidelines for the placement of traffic cameras under its road safety strategy, and the direction of cameras will be addressed in those guidelines.
In relation to issues around data aggregation and linkage, it is helpful to consider the ways in which the existing traffic cameras handle personal information, which I have previously mentioned. Point-to-point camera systems will not deal with personal information any differently from the other types of traffic cameras. There is nothing inherently different either about the images taken by point-to-point cameras or the information that will be used by the Traffic Camera Office to prepare an infringement notice for an offence detected by the system.
The only substantive difference between the existing camera systems and the point-to-point system is that images from point-to-point cameras are evidence of a vehicle’s average speed between two points, whereas images from fixed or mobile cameras are evidence of a vehicle’s speed at a particular point. The processes for adjudicating images, retrieving vehicle ownership information from the database, preparing infringement notices and handling complaints are otherwise exactly the same. The same types of information security protocols which will apply to images from the point-to-point cameras already apply to images from the other traffic cameras. Members should bear that in mind.
In relation to arrangements for notifying clients about the collection and use of information, drivers and vehicle owners are aware that the Road Transport Authority collects personal information to compile its driver licence and vehicle registration databases and for enforcing transport law—that is the primary purpose for which drivers are licensed and vehicles are registered. ACT drivers and registered operators
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