Your Car’s Watching You: Europe Mandates In-Cabin Cameras, and the U.S. Could Be Next

A sweeping new set of vehicle safety regulations took effect in the European Union this week, and the most controversial one puts a camera inside every new car. The mandate requires an interior-facing camera tied to what’s called an advanced driver distraction warning system, or ADDW.

Its job is to catch you when you’re zoning out, nodding off, or fiddling with your phone, and then alert you to get back in the game.

Automakers have long offered drowsiness alerts, but those mostly rely on simple timers. This is different: a camera that actively tracks your eyes, head position, and behavior. While most of us would appreciate safer drivers on the road, the big question is what happens to all that footage.

The EU says the system must operate in a “closed loop,” meaning the data never leaves the vehicle. But critics point out that rules on paper don’t always translate to airtight enforcement, especially when automakers have already been caught sharing driving data with insurance companies.

A recent New York Times investigation found that General Motors and Honda had passed so-called “driving scores” to brokers, who then sold them to insurers, sometimes leading to higher premiums for customers.

Beyond the camera rule, the EU is also requiring advanced emergency braking that can detect pedestrians and cyclists, larger safety glass areas to protect people in crashes, and new tire-wear tests to ensure safe performance in wet conditions. S. Congress passed a bill that would require similar in-car camera technology to combat drunk and impaired driving, with a deadline set for next year.

But the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced in April that the technology needed to passively detect intoxication isn’t mature enough for commercial use. That means Americans may have dodged the cabin surveillance bullet for now. But given the momentum behind these regulations, it’s likely only a matter of time before the cameras start showing up in cars sold here.