cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/tech/p/1247209/all-cars-sold-in-the-eu-now-require-a-camera-aimed-at-your-face-its-still-not-clear-wher
Starting July 7, 2026, every new car sold in the European Union must include a driver monitoring camera aimed at your face. Glance at your phone, your kids in the back seat, or the radio for too long, and the car will flash a warning light and sound an alert.
Automakers have known this was coming for years. What they, and EU regulators, have never spelled out is what happens to that footage after the alert goes off.
While the intention behind the new system is difficult to dispute, its implementation has raised several concerns. Early real-world testing suggests the distraction warnings can be overly sensitive and potentially distracting.
I’ve rented one of these and i absolutely fucking hate these cars with a burning passion. It’s so distracting when you’re driving and it’s endless. The ‘lane keep assist’ almost took me into oncoming traffic on a mountain road with no center or edge lane markers because it thought I was going over the edge of the lane and thought it would be better to direct me at an oncoming car. I had to slam on the brakes and yank at the steering wheel, luckily nobody was behind me.
This shit is going to get people killed.
There’s a very tight turn on a barely two lane (the Irish might call it two lanes but it’s narrow) with guardrails as the shoulder and mu wife’s outback wants to lock the brakes up on us so badly. It’s done it several times and we have to actively take the corner wide (good line of sight luckily) to not get face fucked by dashboard/steering wheel now.
I drive a 2018 wrx and the dealer wanted to upgrade the “radio” in my car because there was a bulletin for it. They meant cell radio. Luckily these are a couple of lifelong friends and told me exactly what to unplug when i got home. Most cars now it’s a heart plug so yank it and you’re fucked.
Hot take. Cars are already killing us.
Like ya this is a privacy concern but there are cameras on buses as well. Meanwhile most people driving are already plugging in a phone that tracks us and is been pretty verified to be filming and listening to us without our consent.
Silver-lining. Maybe people wont wanna drive cars and instead will take advantage of that fancy schmancy public transit I hear they have across the pond.
It’s going to kill even more pedestrians with all of the distracting ding noises and alerts popping up that pull your attention down and away from the road.
BUT THAT’S SOCIALISM!!!