- The EU’s general safety regulation must be expanded
- Driver Distraction Warning systems must be fitted to new cars
- Privacy advocates are already voicing concerns about data
As of this week, the European Commission has stated that all new vehicles registered in the European Union must be equipped with Advanced Driver Distraction Warning (ADDW) systems to comply with new, stricter safety legislation.
While European roads are among the safest in the world, the European Commission said in its announcement that “the number of deaths and injuries from road accidents is still too high.” As a result, it is set to expand its General Safety Regulation to include several new requirements.
Among the new requirements are advanced emergency braking systems that detect pedestrians and cyclists, as well as “better forward vision” and camera-based driver distraction technology that audibly warns drivers to pay attention to the road.
Many new cars already have this technology, which uses a small camera mounted behind the steering wheel or somewhere above the infotainment system in the center of the dashboard.
The system is constantly active and monitors the driver’s eyes and facial expressions and intervenes if it detects that the driver is looking away from the road for too long.
Today’s manufacturers’ systems range from audible beeps and on-screen safety messages when it detects distraction, to disabling automatic cruise control and other features.
Critics have already hit out at the decision, with the European conservative describing the commission’s move as the “latest irritating piece of EU over-regulation”, which comes with little clarity on how the data will be handled.
These ADDW systems should operate in a closed loop, where all data is processed locally in the car and never uploaded to any third-party server.
However, since April 2018, all newly approved passenger cars and light vans in the EU have been required to include an eCall emergency system that automatically contacts the emergency services in the event of a serious collision.
This, combined with the fact that consulting firm McKinsey predicts that 95% of all vehicles will be connected to the Internet by 2030, means that it is not a big stretch to think that driver monitoring data could eventually leave the vehicle.
Analysis: a data protection nightmare
Analysis by Mozilla in 2023 examined the privacy policies of 25 car brands and found that each failed to meet its own privacy and security standards. Mozilla concluded that cars were “the worst product category we’ve ever reviewed for privacy.”
In 2024, the Texas Attorney General opened an investigation into several automakers following reports that they had collected large amounts of driver data and sold it to third parties.
As the European Conservative points out, there is currently very little clarity from the EU about how driver data is handled, meaning there is the potential for these systems to eventually help determine insurance premiums or act as evidence in e.g. a court.
In addition to this, ADDW technology can also prove to be extremely distracting when implemented poorly.
I’ve lost count of the number of times a system has warned me to pay attention when all I’m doing is trying to find a simple function in a confusing series of touchscreen menus.
On the one hand, Euro NCAP says it will target “annoying” safety technology, but on the other, the EU is demanding greater reliance on these systems. Now is a confusing time to be a driver.
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