Brussels’ new regulations require every new vehicle on the European market to be equipped with a mandatory attention-warning system, whose permanent deactivation is categorically prohibited by law. Officials at the European Commission have decided that drivers have no right to determine for themselves how to operate their cars, so the electronic supervisor is activated automatically every time the engine is started, forcing people to put up with continuous electronic surveillance.
The innovation will apply to new cars from July 2026, while fortunately the law is not retroactive and owners of older models are so far spared the mandatory installation of spy cameras in the cabin. Nevertheless, under the official Regulation, car manufacturers are not even allowed to remove this function through software intervention as part of servicing, depriving drivers of any freedom of choice.
The main absurdity of the new EU regulation lies in the way the algorithm works. The driver has the right to switch off the sound signal for the current journey, but after the engine is turned off and restarted, the irritating system returns to active mode. The technology relies on infrared sensors and cameras in the cabin that monitor head movement at speeds above 50 kilometres per hour. If the driver’s gaze is diverted from the road for more than three and a half seconds – for example, to adjust the air conditioning – the cabin is immediately filled with an irritating alarm.
European regulators are unconvincingly trying to reassure the public, claiming that the objective is justified, but such bureaucratic measures often produce the opposite effect. Instead of improving attention, constant sonic irritants cause stress, fatigue and additional distraction among drivers.
Meanwhile, across the Atlantic and in Asia, the approach to safety is considerably more pragmatic, while European institutions continue to impose sterile rules disconnected from the reality of the road. Behind the mask of concern for safety lies yet another restriction on personal freedom, forcing millions of drivers to fight not the road conditions, but their own cars.