Overview
For the collection, handling, dispersion and use of intermodal traffic information by third parties a number of legal issues are involved. A specific “Traffic telematics and traffic information law” does not exist. Particularly the data privacy law, contract law and the intangible property rights (patent, copyright) represent the substantially affected legal spheres.
From a pool of possible traffic applications, groups will be defined. First, systems with a lot of users and a lot of money transfer, and systems with a lot of users, ecological issues, and data protection critical issues are selected. Second, applications with special technologies in case of improvement of comfort or security will be analysed. Analysing these applications, the dissemination, improvement and visualisation in polychromic media by third parties will be a central view. More or less these studies will different horizontal (closed systems) and vertical application (in a chain disseminated data). Finally, also other factors will be analysed, which are important for mobility services. In a conclusion inconsistencies and additions of the different law areas will be shown and recommendations for further use (maybe a change of national law or including in national framework plans).
The analysis of the affected legal domains for the defined applications in the different modes of transport took place along a typical project process. From the experiences of the participating partners existing applications and systems were analysed. Based on these exemplary applications mandatory provisions of the law as well as general contract law (necessary to take care of economic interests) have been evaluated.
Funding
Results
The most important topics within the legal analysis were data collection (legal focus: Data Protection) – data storage and preparation (legal focus: Intangible Property Law) - and data dispersion (legal focus: contract law). Furthermore, also the protection of intellectual property rights in the broad sense ("Know-How"), Directive 2007/2/EC establishing an Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community, national interests of the Public Security ("Homeland") – which often is contrary to privacy (keyword data retention) – information transfer law, consumer protection, passenger rights and public law provisions which constitute the regulatory framework of transport - for example, railway act, Road Traffic Regulations (Highway Code, CFG, etc.) were analysed.
Within the road traffic domain, the legal framework for traffic condition observations (e.g. FLEET and GO-SMART) and video recording of data (LPR and persons recording) were evaluated and discussed on legal grounds. For rail traffic infrastructure, monitoring applications such as RFID and localization based Services (GPS) were analysed. DoRIS as the most important application in inland water traffic is analysed within a separate study and is not within the scope of this study. For aviation, general legal grounds have been investigated, as here primarily in-house tools are being used. One focus of the project Juergen was laid on intermodal services (on the example of ITS Vienna Region), because of the overlapping of the different legal problems where critical legal issues can be evaluated very well.
Based on the research and analysis of the relevant applications and areas of law, recommendations for the traffic telematics field in terms of its legal aspects, were given.
Findings of the study are published by a final report (German only) which is available online via the Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology (BMVIT):