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Getting CCTV footage from TfL

Riding home last night at the end of a 50km round trip to the family Christmas lunch (sober, I hasten to add, though I soon put that right!) we were nearly home and I was riding along the centre line near East Dulwich station waiting to turn right when a car in the line of oncoming traffic suddenly decided to pull out and drive up the wrong side of the road at high speed straight towards me. Fortunately I had just enough speed left to pull sharply out of their way - if I'd been stopped would most definitely been hit hard (a kindly gentleman in a car behind who stopped to ask if I was OK said, "Fuck mate I thought you were going to die").

Anyway, the thing is that just a few minutes before my GoPro had run out of charge (my fault, I usually take the lead and recharge it at my mother's but in the rush of checking we had all presents etc forgot), so I have no footage and didn't get the registration number, but the incident was right in front of a pelican crossing that has traffic cameras, one pointing more or less straight at the incident. I've sent an email to TfL, who apparently are responsible for all London's traffic lights, asking for footage; I was wondering if anyone has experience of this with them or other authorities? As I understand it, I have a right to any footage in which I feature, is that correct? If they agree to supply the footage, will it be redacted to block out the registration plates of other cars?

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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8 comments

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Bungle_52 | 4 months ago
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Just a thought, but as you have an eye witness could you not just report to the police and let them request the footage.

Glad you're OK.

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Rendel Harris replied to Bungle_52 | 4 months ago
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Thanks appreciate it. I didn't get the witness details, I was a bit shaken so I just said thanks and happy Christmas and carried on.

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Brauchsel | 4 months ago
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I suspect you'll need to be very precise in specifying your time and location in your SAR, so that they can't just reach for the "unreasonable effort" excuse for not producing the information.

If you can get the footage, I'm not sure they should redact numberplates. It seems to have been established that there's no necessary connection between a car's driver and its registered keeper: on that basis, seeing a numberplate is not providing identification of either of those data subjects.

If TfL are no help, might Sainsbury's have footage? I'm not sure if you mean the crossing at the bottom or halfway up the hill: if the latter, they'd probably have CCTV looking at the traffic heading into their car park. 

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Rendel Harris replied to Brauchsel | 4 months ago
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The one further down, by the railway bridge. I've given them the exact time to the minute as lifted off Strava and a very precise location. I fear given the fact that many staff will be off for Christmas and my usual experience of dealing with TfL that if they do give me footage it will be months from now and the police will say too late to charge, but we shall see.

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wtjs replied to Brauchsel | 4 months ago
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It seems to have been established that there's no necessary connection between a car's driver and its registered keeper: on that basis, seeing a numberplate is not providing identification of either of those data subjects

It hasn't been established with LancsFilth,or many other forces I suspect, as this connection is the basis for the much misused GDPR dodge so beloved of those serial cover-up merchants whereby they refuse to tell you what they actually did about those offences against you (because it was actually nothing at all)

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Rendel Harris replied to wtjs | 4 months ago
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I had an amusing conversation with someone from the Met traffic office two years ago who said they couldn't tell me what sanction had been applied to a driver whom I had been told would be receiving an NIP:

"I'm afraid we can't tell you any more about the sanction because that would breach GDPR."

"But I'm not asking for any personal details, I just want to know what they got."

"Yes but if we told you that we would have to tell you the registration number and you could get their personal details from that."

"I already know their registration number, it's on the video I sent you and on the form I filled in."

"Yes but, ummm...you found that out for yourself but we can't tell you it."

"I don't want you to tell me it, I know it."

"But you might have lost it and so not know it and then if you saw it on our documentation that would breach our GDPR responsibility."

Proper Alice in Wonderland stuff!

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wtjs replied to Rendel Harris | 4 months ago
2 likes

It's some Dodge, that Dodge 22!

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David9694 | 4 months ago
3 likes

A little bit of experience from the other side of this, you're making a subject access request, a SAR. The image TfL presumably have recorded of you is data that they hold about you and you can request this.  If you have to drag it out of them that way then I think yes they should redact other identifiable data subjects. 

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