A dead end for the profiling of drivers in toll stations

The committees against tolls seem unrepentant and without fear, climaxing the war against the government and the contractors.  

After the recent decision by the HDPA to provide drivers’ data to the consortiums so they can collect the unpaid fares, the Committee against tolls in Northeastern Attica has responded by appealing to the Hellenic Data Protection Authority .

They are asking for the withdrawal of the decision on profiling, its ratification by the Authority in its entirety and the participation in the process and submission of proposals by the public.

As members of the Committee say, the Authority is not clear on the issue of the useof photographs provided by company cctv at toll stations, which constitute evidence against “moochers”.

The reason is that the Authority gives its consent for the use of the photographs but under the condition that the Authority itself will control their legality. But what does this mean? According to legal circles,it means that the process must be strictly limited to the highlights that prove the passing of a vehicle without paying and not include photographs that show faces. No one can know what will actually happen.

The Authority is asking the contractors to put up warning signs informing drivers they are being watched by cctv. Up to now they havent't done that.

As the committees state, even in the request by the ministry of Infrastructure to the Authority on November 16 for the issuing of personal data of drivers that do not pay, the use of cameras is noted but not for the identification of the drivers. As the request states, the use of cameras is for traffic and police help without any reference of snitching on those that don’t pay.  

The cameras are already up, the only difference being is that the personal data has not been given to the contractors. The procedure requires that a notification is sent to the drivers and then if 15 days pass without payment, then an order for payment by the Supreme Court will be sought.

The intervention of the Authority came after the choking pressure by the Nea Odos consortium (GEK-Terna, Cintra-Dragados) towards the ministry to issue the personal data in order to claim the profit from the tolls by every legal means .

It is estimated that in the frontal tolls at Aifidnes, managed by Nea Odos AE and absorbing half of the traffic in the Athens-Lamia highway, 2.000 drivers per day pass without paying, when a year ago they did not exceed 200. If the numbers are correct, then the consortium that is building the part from Antirrio to Giannena has monthly losses from 56.000 vehicles, i.e. more than 100.000 euros.

It’s worth noting that the profiling of drivers comes a few months after the fiasco of the ministry of Infrastructure revealed by protothema.gr, about enlisting the Greek Police to monitor the non-paying citizens by sending their data to the companies.

The plan was met with utter failure and the ministry blamed the letter that left the headquarters of the Greek Police on an administrative error!