IR-01-24-3141 
1 February 2024 
Mike 
[FYI request #25548 email] 
Dear Mike 
Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request of  28 January 2024, in 
which you requested: 
Many modern cars are fitted with event data recorders (aka crash data 
recorders). Do NZ Police retrieve data from these when investigating a vehicle 
crash? 
If you do, does it require the prior permission of the vehicle owner or the driver 
before you access the data. Or is there legislation that allows you to access it 
without either the owners or the drivers consent in the event of a crash? 
Section 123(1) of the Land Transport Act 1998 provides Police with the authority to seize 
and impound a vehicle to enable a scientific examination of the vehicle or to establish the 
cause of a serious crash, a hit and run offence or fails to stop offence. Device data 
generated for non-Police vehicles may be downloaded without warrant if: 
•
the data is able to be downloaded, and
•
the vehicle has been in secure storage without interference since the incident, and
•
the crash is of the type specified in section 123 of the Land Transport Act 1998.
I trust this information is satisfactory in answering your request. 
Yours sincerely 
Superintendent Steve Greal y 
Director: Road Policing 
Police National Headquarters 
180 Molesworth Street. PO Box 3017, Wellington 6140, New Zealand. 
Telephone: 04 474 9499. Fax: 04 498 7400. www.police.govt.nz 

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