Every new car sold in the EU will now watch its driver
Starting this month, all newly sold passenger cars in the European Union must be equipped with a driver monitoring camera designed to detect distraction behind the wheel, as part of new road safety regulations aimed at reducing traffic accidents, Qazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
The mandatory system, known as Advanced Driver Distraction Warning (ADDW), uses an infrared camera positioned near the steering wheel or dashboard to monitor a driver's gaze. If the driver looks away from the road for more than 3.5 seconds at higher speeds, or six seconds at lower speeds, the vehicle issues visual, audible or vibration alerts. The feature activates automatically once the vehicle exceeds approximately 20 km/h and cannot be permanently disabled.
The requirement is part of a broader EU road safety package intended to reduce crashes caused by distracted driving. According to EU research, driver distraction contributes to between 5% and 25% of road accidents, while the wider safety measures are expected to save more than 25,000 lives by 2038.
Despite its safety goals, the new requirement has sparked concerns over privacy and data handling.
Current regulations state that ADDW systems should operate on a "closed loop" basis, meaning facial images and eye-tracking data are processed within the vehicle rather than transmitted to manufacturers or third parties. The rules also prohibit the use of biometric data for driver identification.
However, as the All About Cookies website notes, the legislation does not require independent audits to verify that manufacturers comply with these requirements. It also leaves key questions unanswered, including how long any collected data may be stored and what information is considered necessary for the system to retain.
Early testing has also raised questions about the system's performance. Reviews of vehicles equipped with ADDW found that warnings can be triggered during normal driving, including when drivers briefly glance at the infotainment screen or roadside scenery. Although drivers can temporarily disable the alerts, the system automatically reactivates after the engine is restarted or when it detects potentially distracting behavior.
Privacy advocates say the lack of clear safeguards is particularly concerning given the automotive industry's history of collecting driver data. Previous investigations found that several major automakers shared driving behavior information with data brokers, while separate reports revealed that sensitive footage recorded by vehicle cameras had been improperly accessed by employees.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that India’s automotive market achieved its strongest May performance on record, with retail vehicle sales surpassing 2.53 million units.
