Driving alert message: what will these interior cameras be used for, which will be mandatory on cars from this summer ?

Ces caméras seront obligatoires sur tous les nouveaux modèles à partir de cet été. MAXPPP – Odilon Dimier

Et si nos voitures étaient bientôt dotées de caméras pour surveiller notre distraction ou notre somnolence ? Dès cet été, certains véhicules seront obligatoirement équipés.

From next July, all new cars approved by manufacturers in Europe will have to be equipped with a driver distraction or fatigue detection system, reveals BFMTV.

From 3.5 seconds of inattention

This system is supposed to alert the driver when their eyes are off the road for more than 3.5 seconds at a speed of 50km/h or more. Between 20 and 50 km/h, it will take 6 seconds of inattention to receive this alert message. These few seconds correspond to the maximum distraction threshold set by the regulations. This detection will be possible day and night, and even when the driver is wearing a cap, sunglasses or false eyelashes.

"It will be able to detect different points of the face: the position of the head, the orientation, but especially at eye level the rate of eyelid closure or blinking", indicates Ayla Vanden Driessche, development manager for driving assistance systems at Forvia, interviewed by BFMTV.

Capable of adjusting the interior ambiance

These warning messages, both visual and audible, will be repeated more insistently if the driver is distracted again. This regulation applies part of the ambition of zero deaths on EU roads by 2050. Even if it is still difficult to achieve this. #39;estimate the cost of this type of technology for the customer, all new cars sold in Europe will have to be equipped with these cameras in the summer of 2026.

"This type of system is capable of providing other information or detecting other elements such as the driver's emotions to offer music or  adjust the interior atmosphere. For example, depending on where the driver is looking, we can adjust the brightness of the screens to provide greater comfort,” adds Ayla Vanden Driessche, still at the microphone of BFMTV.