Do fleets fitted with cameras require warning signage under GDPR?
In May 2018 the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into place, superseding the Data Protection Act which previously governed the use of CCTV in vehicles. Commercial vehicle owners who have camera systems installed which record video footage are covered by GDPR.
Cameras which are only used to view blind spots and are not being recorded are not covered by GDPR and do not require warning signage to be in situ.
A critical aspect of GDPR is that anyone being recorded by a camera system must be aware of its presence. This includes both the public, the driver and any other people that may come into contact with the vehicle i.e. mechanics, passengers, customers etc.
Signage should be prominently displayed on the vehicle and where possible, wherever a camera is recording, this includes internal cameras. Signage should be clearly visible and where audio recording equipment is being used this should also be detailed.
Covert surveillance is only permitted in extreme circumstances and where done so a risk assessment and a justification must be undertaken. Under GDPR, individuals can submit access requests to view data where they believe their privacy has been breached. You cannot charge individuals for dealing with these requests however you can change a ‘reasonable fee’ when a request is unfounded or excessive.
For vehicles that are not sign written, it is recommended that the details of the data controller (usually the owner of the camera system) are displayed.
In addition to signage, it is important that fleet owners ensure that video footage is handled securely. For instance, Centrad’s software has administration rights, which restricts access to authorised users only. Footage has a non-visible watermark to ensure that tampered files will not play with a lockable hard drive to prevent unauthorised access to data.
Hopefully that’s helped clarify everything for you.
If you have any more questions regarding GDPR or CCTV in general, please don’t hesitate to give us a call on 0121 696 4784.
About Centrad:
We have one purpose… To help fleet operators like you increase vehicle safety whilst saving thousands of £££’s each and every year.
Founded by Geoff Cross, Centrad was started because he had experienced the frustrations of driving a fleet vehicle himself, without cameras installed and decided to install them in his own vehicles around 15 years ago.
Having seen the huge benefits CCTV had brought to his own fleet, he set out to help other fleet operators get a top quality CCTV system at an affordable price.
With the single purpose of helping you to increase vehicle safety whilst saving thousands each and every year.
Fast forward to today, Geoff is proud to be renowned for being the only provider of Vehicle CCTV and safety systems who is also a fleet operator.
He’s suffered every single frustration, first hand, and knows exactly how to solve them.
Centrad are here to help you with all your CCTV requirements, for all fleet vehicles! Get in touch
