Research project AG/FF/082 (Research action AG)
1. Name of the Institution
Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure
Land Transport Administration, Mobility, Co-ordination, Inspection Service, Inspection Directorate
2. Description of the project
The Inspection Directorate is one of the services of the federal government which is responsible for checking various aspects of the transport of persons and goods by road at the national level.
Its three objectives (traffic safety, sound competitive conditions for the transport companies, a proper social context for those working in the sector) make this directorate a specialised actor in road inspection.
This directorate also engages in legally-based collaboration with foreign inspection services. This occurs especially within the framework of the "Euro Contrôle Route" Administrative Arrangement, which will be extended to most Western European and Central European countries in the near future.
Within this context, the directorate is confronted with the need to exchange large amounts of data with various partners. It is also often the authority which compiles, processes and passes on the data. In certain cases this action is imposed by regulations or assigned by agreement.
Until now, this data flow has been organised on a case-by-case basis.
Considering the growing number of needs for information and the complexity thereof, it is imperative to shift over to a centralised management of these flows.
The objective of this application for support within the Agora framework is the creation of a central database for registered (serious) offences.
3. Work which must be performed by the scientific team
The scientific support assignment will consist of developing a methodology which, by linking various items of (received or self-acquired) information in a central database, must make it possible to pass the most relevant information on to other authorities at their own demand, in compliance with regulatory provisions or agreements, or in order to support the policy.
This exercise must extend to a trial run of the intended database.
The intervention of the scientists is to be spread over a period of at most one year, and will be divided into four steps:
- STEP 1 (3 MONTHS): determination and collection of the various types of information and of the different data flows in close collaboration with the administration and its external partners in this exchange; in this step, the basic unit (= company) and the various sub-data per company are also established (± 20); the Computerisation Service of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure must be involved at the end of this step.
- STEP 2 (3 MONTHS): development and formulation of a methodology proposal.
- STEP 3 (3 MONTHS): testing of methodology on the collected information (database).
- STEP 4 : completion of the methodology and the database on the basis of the facts determined in step 3.
4. Finished product which must be delivered by the scientific team
An adapted methodology and database which can be used by the Administration and can be adapted to evolving needs without having to call on specific external help.
5. Utilisation of the result
The result of the action is utilised by the following elements:
- it is an adequate instrument for passing on all information requested on a regulatory basis (EU regulations and directives concerning the driving and rest periods in road transport, the transport of hazardous goods and roadside technical inspections);
- the collected and structured information must allow the various other national and international inspection services to act effectively; the same applies for the Inspection Directorate itself via the information fed back from these other services;
- it is a suitable instrument for supporting the enforcement policy at the level of the regulations checked (e.g. info which must make it possible to revoke permits);
- the collected information can also be useful for policy making with respect to traffic and transport (minister and government level), for research in this area (including Belgian Institute for Traffic Safety) and for the professional federations of the sector within the framework of providing information to the members and elaborating a deontology within the profession.
6. Special conditions
The project comes from the Land Transport Administration which, inter alia, chairs the advisory committee, to which representatives of the various interested partners (= other inspection services) are invited.
The activities take place in constant close consultation at the initiative of the Land Transport Administration.
Access to and use of the information in the database as well as the inputting of data form the object of a precise protocol between the interested parties. This protocol includes a guarantee of access for scientific use, a guarantee that the elements which are policy-supporting and policy-enforcing will be open to the public, and confidentiality clauses for information falling under the protection of privacy.
The State is the owner of all of the information and the developed methodology.
Datawarehouse "Contrôles des transports routiers" : rapport final
Bruxelles : Politique scientifique fédérale, 2004 (SP1342)
[To download]
Datawarehouse "Wegvervoercontroles" : eindrapport
Brussel : Federaal Wetenschapsbeleid, 2004 (SP1343)
[To download]
