The electronic eye moves into the cabin: Europe extends its mandate for anti-distraction systems

As of 7 July 2026, the mandate no longer applies only to newly type-approved vehicle models; it now extends to every car and van newly registered in the European Union. The second phase of the General Safety Regulation brings in the advanced driver distraction warning system: a shift in technical perspective that moves the electronic eye away from what is happening on the road and onto whoever is behind the wheel.

The safety package — which also includes automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, tougher tyre tests and better forward visibility — fits within the European Commission's "Vision Zero" strategy. The long-term goal is to come as close as possible to zero road deaths by 2050, calling for technologies that compensate for human limits at the wheel.

The rollout of driver-facing cameras is not without ambiguity. According to The Next Web, these systems are designed to "work in the moment" rather than to record, suggesting on-board processing with no storage or transmission of the images. Yet because this is a design intention and not a technical specification confirmed in detail by the regulation, uncertainties remain about how privacy is actually handled and about the nature of the data being processed — a concern raised by experts but not yet fully settled at the regulatory level.

Moving the monitoring from the asphalt to the driver's gaze changes the paradigm of safety: we are no longer merely protecting the body, we are beginning to measure attention. Is that the technical price of Vision Zero, or the quiet habit of being watched?

— Olya