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Advanced Driver Distraction Warning mandate

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Since July 7, 2026, every new car registered in the European Union must carry an Advanced Driver Distraction Warning (ADDW) system that monitors the driver's gaze,[1][2][3] a requirement manufacturers meet in practice with an infrared camera aimed at the driver's face.[4][5] A warning triggers when the driver looks away from the road for more than 3.5 seconds above 50 km/h, or for 6 seconds at lower speeds.[4][6] Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 requires the data to stay within a closed-loop system, barred from third parties & immediately deleted after processing,[1] but Gadget Review & All About Cookies each reported that no independent audit mechanism verifies that automakers comply.[4][6]

Background

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The European Commission presented the revised General Safety Regulation in 2018; the European Parliament & EU member states adopted it in November 2019.[7] The resulting Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 applies from July 6, 2022 & requires motor vehicles of categories M & N to carry advanced systems, listing driver drowsiness and attention warning & advanced driver distraction warning among them.[1][3]

Drowsiness warning (DDAW), specified in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1341 of April 23, 2021, must alert at a drowsiness level equivalent to or above 8 on the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale & may alert at level 7.[8] The ADDW delegated regulation, by its own recitals, focuses on warning drivers in cases of long visual distraction.[3]

Annex II of the regulation staggers the two systems. Drowsiness warning (requirement E2, class B) applied to new vehicle types from July 6, 2022 & to all new vehicles from July 7, 2024; ADDW (requirement E3, class C) carries refusal of EU type-approval from July 7, 2024 & prohibition of registration of new vehicles from July 7, 2026.[1] On July 8, 2026, the Commission announced that all new passenger cars & vans across the EU must now carry the newly required systems, listing an Advanced driver distraction warning system to keep drivers focused among them.[2]

The European Commission announced on July 8, 2026 that new safety requirements, among them an advanced driver distraction warning system, took effect for cars and vans on July 7, 2026.[2]

Technical requirements

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Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2590, adopted July 13, 2023, lays down the ADDW test procedures & technical requirements for vehicles of categories M & N.[3] The system self-activates: The ADDW system shall be automatically activated above the speed of 20 km/h, & the manufacturer may set automatic activation at a lower speed.[3]

Warning thresholds are defined against gaze zones, with Area 3 covering any area below a plane, 30° downward from the driver's ocular reference point.[3] Point 3.3.2.1 of the delegated regulation sets the higher-speed trigger:

A warning shall be provided to the driver as soon as both of the following conditions apply: (a) vehicle's speed at 50 km/h or above; (b) the gaze of the driver in the Area 3 last for a maximum time of 3,5 seconds in the nominal situation.

[3]

At 20 km/h or above, the limit is a maximum time of 6 seconds in the nominal situation, & non-nominal situations may extend either time limit by additional 1,5 seconds.[3]

Point 3.3.2.1 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2590 requires a warning at 50 km/h or above once the driver's gaze rests in Area 3 for a maximum time of 3,5 seconds in the nominal situation.[3]

The regulation's recitals state the performance requirements should be technology-neutral, in order to foster development of new technologies.[3] AutoNext described the shipping implementations in May 2026:

ADDW uses an infrared camera, usually mounted on the steering column, dashboard or near the interior mirror, to monitor the position of the driver's head and eyes.

[5]

Seeing Machines, a driver-monitoring supplier, states that ADDW systems track a driver's head position, eye movements & gaze direction using cameras & sensors.[9] It entered a referral agreement with Mitsubishi Electric Europe on June 30, 2025 to sell its Guardian driver-monitoring technology in Europe as automakers prepared to comply with the regulation's driver-monitoring requirements.[10] Sweden's Smart Eye put the market covered by the requirement at an estimated 15 million vehicles per year.[11]

Data protection provisions

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Article 6(3) of Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 sets the storage rules for both attention systems:

Driver drowsiness and attention warning and advanced driver distraction warning systems shall be designed in such a way that those systems do not continuously record nor retain any data other than what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they were collected or otherwise processed within the closed-loop system. Furthermore, those data shall not be accessible or made available to third parties at any time and shall be immediately deleted after processing.

[1]

The regulation's recitals add that such systems should function without the use of any kind of biometric information of drivers or passengers, including facial recognition.[1]

Article 6(3) of Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 requires that data from the drowsiness and distraction warning systems shall not be accessible or made available to third parties at any time and shall be immediately deleted after processing.[1]

The delegated regulation repeats the biometric ban at point 2.3.1, requiring that the system shall function without relying on biometric personal data of any vehicle occupants, & addresses the camera question directly:

This requirement does not forbid the ADDW system to use data from the camera(s) equipped in the vehicle, it forbids the identification of the person by the ADDW system.

[3]

Point 2.3.2 requires the system to record & retain only data necessary for it to function & to operate within a closed-loop system.[3]

No independent audit mechanism

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Gadget Review's July 8, 2026 report stated: Regulations ban third-party data sharing, but no independent audit mechanism enforces compliance.[4] The report added: The principle is clear. The enforcement architecture is not.[4]

Gadget Review's July 8, 2026 report sets the regulation's no-access and deletion language against its finding that No independent EU-wide audit mechanism exists to verify compliance.[4]

All About Cookies published the same finding:

The regulations do not impose any independent audit or assurance mechanism to ensure that the ADDW systems installed in automobiles actually operate on a closed-loop basis.

[6]

The same article reported that Article 6(3) does not define which data counts as necessary for ADDW systems, nor does it specify the exact retention period for such data, while noting that the EU's General Data Protection Regulation still applies to any system processing personal information about an identifiable person within the EU.[6]

Cybernews reported on July 8, 2026, citing Risky Business, that authorities say the cameras will not collect biometric data & that the information will be stored in the car, but do not specify what will happen if those rules are broken.[12] Malwarebytes Labs' Pieter Arntz wrote that while the law does not explicitly mandate external data sharing, manufacturers could potentially upload biometric data to corporate servers.[13]

Automaker data-sharing record

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Gadget Review grounded its criticism in the industry's record:

Roughly 84% of car brands examined in a 2023 Mozilla Foundation review share or sell driver data.

[4]

That review, Mozilla Foundation's Privacy Not Included report of September 6, 2023, examined 25 car brands & gave every one its privacy warning label, calling cars the official worst category of products for privacy that we have ever reviewed.[14] Of the 25 brands, 84% say they can share personal data, 76% say they can sell it, & 56% say they can share information with government or law enforcement in response to a request; 92% give drivers little to no control over their personal data, with only Renault & Dacia stating that all drivers have the right to have their data deleted.[14]

General Motors' driver-data sales produced three government actions in two years. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued GM on August 13, 2024 over what his office described as unlawful collection and sale of over 1.5 million Texans' private driving data to insurance companies.[15] The FTC finalized an order on January 14, 2026, by a 2-0 vote, banning GM for five years from disclosing geolocation & driver-behavior data to consumer reporting agencies,[16] & on May 8, 2026 the California Attorney General announced a $12.75 million settlement his office described as the Largest CCPA penalty in California history to date.[17] Gadget Review noted of the documented sharing:

None of this involved ADDW footage specifically. The pattern, though, reads like a warning label.

[4]

The Federal Trade Commission finalized an order with General Motors and OnStar on January 14, 2026, imposing a five-year ban on disclosing consumers' geolocation and driver behavior data to consumer reporting agencies.[16]

Disabling and reactivation behavior

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According to AutoNext, Belgian outlet Gocar.be tested the system in an Xpeng P7+ & found it could be switched off but reactivated itself once it detected "problematic" viewing behaviour.[5] Gadget Review reported the same test flagging a driver for glancing at scenery on an empty highway.[4]

Gadget Review also reported that the system cannot be permanently disabled; it resets every ignition cycle, & described one renter getting distraction warnings every 10 minutes in a Ford Puma.[4]

Safety rationale

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The Commission's explanatory memorandum for the ADDW rules estimates that between 10% and 30% of crashes in Europe are caused by road user distraction.[18] The memorandum also states the Commission will continue work to further investigate, develop and adopt by July 2027 requirements that follow the technological progress of ADDW systems, including intermittent distraction & types of distraction other than visual, such as cognitive distraction.[18]

In a January 30, 2026 opinion for the European Transport Safety Council, Graziella Jost called recent comments by the boss of Fiat, which she said suggested that safety requirements were making small city cars unaffordable & should be stripped back, misleading and dangerous.[19] Writing of automated emergency braking, intelligent speed assistance & ADDW together, she stated:

These technologies are not luxury add-ons. They are essential for protecting everyone on the road, especially in dense urban environments where interactions between cars, bikes and pedestrians are constant.

[19]

Euro NCAP's 2026 protocols, announced November 26, 2025, place greater emphasis on driver monitoring technologies & structure assessments around four Stages of Safety, each scored out of 100 points.[20] On driver monitoring, the announcement states:

To achieve the highest ratings, vehicles must not only employ continuous eye- and head-tracking but also link driver state information to the sensitivity of driver assistance systems.

[20]

United Kingdom

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The UK Department for Transport opened a consultation, Mandating vehicle safety technologies in GB type approval, on January 7, 2026; it closed on May 11, 2026.[21] The document proposes to mandate 18 of the 19 GSR2 safety technologies for manufacturers seeking GB type approval for mass-produced vehicles.[21] Its Table 1 maps the distraction warning to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2590 & applies it to categories M1, N1, M2, N2, M3 & N3; the consultation describes M1 as passenger cars, M2 & M3 as buses and coaches, N1 as vans, & N2 & N3 as trucks.[21] The consultation states that DDAW and ADDW systems use internal cameras and sensors to observe driver behaviour.[21]

United States

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In the United States, Section 24220 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act directs NHTSA to issue a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard requiring passenger motor vehicles to be equipped with advanced drunk and impaired driving prevention technology within three years of the law's November 15, 2021 enactment.[22] NHTSA published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on January 5, 2024,[23] & received more than 3,000 unique comments in response.[22]

NHTSA's February 2026 Report to Congress, whose first section is titled Reasons for Not Prescribing an Advanced Drunk and Impaired Driving FMVSS, states:

To date, there are no in-vehicle technologies in production that can measure BAC or BrAC at or above 0.08 g/dL passively.

[22]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 on type-approval requirements for motor vehicles and their trailers, and systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles, as regards their general safety and the protection of vehicle occupants and vulnerable road users". EUR-Lex. 2019-11-27. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Safer cars, safer roads: New rules take effect". European Commission. 2026-07-08. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 "Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2590 of 13 July 2023 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 of the European Parliament and of the Council by laying down detailed rules concerning the specific test procedures and technical requirements for the type-approval of certain motor vehicles with regard to their advanced driver distraction warning systems and amending that Regulation". EUR-Lex. 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  4. ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 Alex Barrientos (2026-07-08). "All New EU Cars Require a Camera Aimed at Your Face. Where That Data Goes Is Still Anyone's Guess". Gadget Review. Archived from the original on 2026-07-09. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "New EU ADDW safety system becomes mandatory from July 2026". AutoNext. 2026-05-23. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "All Cars Sold in the EU Now Require a Camera Aimed at Your Face. It's Still Not Clear Where That Data Goes". All About Cookies. 2026-07-08. Archived from the original on 2026-07-07. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  7. ↑ "New rules to improve road safety and enable fully driverless vehicles in the EU". European Commission. 2022-07-05. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  8. ↑ "Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1341 of 23 April 2021 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 of the European Parliament and of the Council by laying down detailed rules concerning the specific test procedures and technical requirements for the type-approval of motor vehicles with regard to their driver drowsiness and attention warning systems". EUR-Lex. 2021-04-23. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  9. ↑ "Understanding Advanced Driver Distraction Warning (ADDW) systems". Seeing Machines. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  10. ↑ "Seeing Machines and Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V. enter Guardian collaboration to boost sales in Europe". Seeing Machines via PR Newswire. 2025-06-30. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  11. ↑ "Advanced Driver Distraction Warning Systems Now Mandatory Across All New EU Vehicles". Smart Eye. 2026-07-07. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  12. ↑ Konstancija Gasaitytė (2026-07-08). "EU requires all new cars to have cameras facing the driver's face to monitor their behavior". Cybernews. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  13. ↑ Pieter Arntz (2026-07-08). "Your next car could be watching your face". Malwarebytes Labs. Archived from the original on 2026-07-09. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Jen Caltrider, Misha Rykov and Zoë MacDonald (2023-09-06). "It's Official: Cars Are the Worst Product Category We Have Ever Reviewed for Privacy". Mozilla Foundation. Archived from the original on 2026-07-09. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  15. ↑ "Attorney General Ken Paxton Sues General Motors for Unlawfully Collecting Drivers' Private Data and Selling It To Several Companies, Including Insurance Companies". Office of the Attorney General of Texas. 2024-08-13. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "FTC Finalizes Order Settling Allegations that GM and OnStar Collected and Sold Geolocation Data Without Consumers' Informed Consent". Federal Trade Commission. 2026-01-14. Archived from the original on 2026-06-18. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  17. ↑ "When It Comes to Data Privacy, Consumers Must Be in the Driver's Seat: Attorney General Bonta, Partners Secure $12.75 Million General Motors Privacy Settlement". California Department of Justice. 2026-05-08. Archived from the original on 2026-07-09. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Commission Delegated Regulation supplementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 with regard to advanced driver distraction warning systems (explanatory memorandum, C(2023) 4523)". EUR-Lex. 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Graziella Jost (2026-01-30). "Opinion: Why we must not roll back life-saving vehicle standards on small cars". European Transport Safety Council. Archived from the original on 2026-07-09. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Euro NCAP announces 2026 protocol changes to tackle modern driving risks". Euro NCAP. 2025-11-26. Archived from the original on 2026-07-09. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 "Mandating vehicle safety technologies in GB type approval". UK Department for Transport. 2026-01-07. Archived from the original on 2026-07-09. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 "Report to Congress: Advanced Impaired Driving Prevention Technology" (PDF). National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. February 2026. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2026-04-25. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  23. ↑ "Advanced Impaired Driving Prevention Technology (Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking)". Federal Register. 2024-01-05. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
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