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.
Couldn’t you just sit on top of the buckled seat belt?
I have a John Deere skidsteer. To even start the machine you need to crawl over the loader bucket, turn around with your back to the machine, kind of fall back into the cab to sit down inside the tight cab, feet on both hydraulic peddles, buckle the shoulder/lap belt, close the front glass door to access the ignition, toggle a safety switch, then turn the ignition key to start it. A fighter cockpit has more room.
If for any reason, if you need/want to dismount from the machine you must reverse each step to shut down the machine to get out. If you do one thing out of order it immediately kills the engine and stops the machine. Imagine needing to do all that multiple times a day or even hour.
A single seatbelt to buckle ain’t no thang.
***And yes, the machine is for sale…
Shutup, nerd.
Edit: Truth is, I thought of that and tried it. I cant remember why, but for some reason it was uncomfortable. Or maybe I wanted the flexibility to buckle easily when I felt it was warranted. Something like that.