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Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
New EU-mandated car safety tech can be 'irrational, erratic and put lives at risk', experts warn
Drivers have been warned latest models in showrooms feature new - EU mandated - safety technology that can be distracting and even dangerous. What Car? has carried out tests of the system installed in six brand new motors and came to the conclusion they can be 'irrational and erratic' and 'put lives at risk'. This is because important safety systems frequently raise false alarms and can increase the risk of the accidents they're supposed to prevent. Driver Drowsiness and Attention Warning (DDAW) systems - fitted to all new models under EU rules introduced last summer - use in-car cameras that monitor the driver to detect if they're falling asleep or distracted at the wheel. While not a legal requirement for models sold in the UK, car makers are equipping Britain-bound vehicles with the feature anyway to reduce manufacturing costs. And just last week, Labour hinted it would likely adopt the same EU rules that require all new cars to have DDAW systems as well as 18 other safety features, including black box recorders and automatic speed limiters. However, experts at What Car? said motorists are likely to turn off as many of these safety features as possible because they will be infuriated by their frequent 'bong' warning sounds and signs for no reason. DDAW systems use in-car cameras that monitor the driver's eyes and posture to detect if they're falling asleep or distracted at the wheel Under the EU's 'New Vehicle General Safety Regulation' - also known as GSR2 or Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 - all new models from 7 July 2024 must have a host of standard-fit safety items. This demands that all motor vehicles must have a suite of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), including the likes of Intelligent Speed Assist (ISA), Emergency Lane Keeping Systems (ELKS) and driver drowsiness and attention monitors. Currently, only a small percentage of the latest models on sale in Britain have these, though this will dramatically increase over the coming months. While there have already been major criticisms of some of the mandated features - especially ISA speed limiters - What Car?'s latest investigation looked specifically at DDAW systems. These have been available in many premium models in recent years. Volvo - a pioneer for vehicle safety - introduced it on its EX90 in 2022. However, all new model entering the market from now on will have a similar system to identify if a motorist isn't paying attention to the road ahead. To find out if they're effective, it evaluated six new cars from different brands to understand if they improve safety or instead increase frustration behind the wheel. It found three of them so annoying and distracting that it said it would expect drivers to turn it off - which, in itself, is no easy feat. That's because under the EU regulation, these ADAS features must be activated every time a car is started. While motorists can turn them off, they will need to deactivate each - or a group - of the safety features before every journey. Doing so in some models can be a painfully arduous task, with the safety tech buried deep among sub-settings in touchscreen infotainment systems. Almost a third of drivers polled in a recent survey said they habitually turn off the DDAW feature in their cars. What does DDAW do? The occupant monitoring feature uses a cabin-facing camera for direct driver monitoring. If it detects a driver looking away from the road for too long, or their head dropping as they fall asleep or become ill, it triggers warnings. These can be visual alerts on the digital instrument cluster telling motorists to keep their eyes on the road, loud acoustic beeps and bongs through the car's speakers, or vibrations of the steering wheel - or a combination of all three. How the tech was assessed To find out how well their driver monitoring systems work, What Car? drove all six cars twice around a 10-mile test loop that replicated rural A-roads and country lanes. On the first lap, the driver kept their eyes on the road ahead, and on the second lap the driver performed four actions that could be deemed distracted driving: they looked across at the infotainment screen, leaned towards the infotainment screen, looked out of the driver's side window and looked downwards into their lap, each one for three seconds. The worst-performing system was in the Chinese Leapmotor C10 - a family SUV that costs from £32,750 (with the brand's £3,750 discount applied in response to the Government's Electric Car Grant). The family motor, which has just arrived in UK showrooms, issued three audio and visual warnings when the test driver was looking at the road ahead, and only went off twice when the distracted driving manoeuvres were done. The system in an MG HS - a rival Chinese SUV starting from £29,245 - also provided two false alarms on the first lap, although it did issue alerts for all four distracted driving moves. In contrast, the system in the £50,080 Mazda CX-80 worked seamlessly, providing warnings during every potentially dangerous manoeuvre, but not when the driver was concentrating. This means the driver wouldn't necessarily even know it's there until it is needed, which is the ideal situation for such systems. The system in an MG HS - a rival Chinese SUV starting from £29,245 - also provided two false alarms on the first lap, although it did issue alerts for all four distracted driving moves, What Car? found Not all DDAW systems are poor, though. The feature in the £50,080 Mazda CX-80 worked seamlessly and 'provided warnings during every potentially dangerous manoeuvre, but not when the driver was concentrating', the expert test team said Some safety systems are a persistent annoyance What Car?'s test team concluded that the 'continual stream of beeps and visual alerts' given by the overly intrusive cars had become so annoying during the tests that it expects drivers will likely turn them off at the start of each journey. This means the system specifically designed to bolster road safety is potentially hampering it. Latest road casualty stats published by the Department for Transport (DfT) for 2023 show that more than a third (34.9 per cent) of fatal crashes in Britain are caused by 'distraction or impairment'. What Car? consumer editor Claire Evans, said: 'A well-engineered driver monitoring system is an important safety aid that should help to stop drivers from becoming dangerously distracted by focusing on the infotainment touchscreen for too long, and from breaking the law by using a handheld mobile phone. 'However, it's crucial that car makers work harder to ensure their systems only intervene when there is a genuine risk of an accident and minimise the number of false alarms.' Claire also says car safety organisation - including crash-test body Euro NCAP - need to introduce 'more stringent testing of these systems'. What Car? has urged Euro NCAP to 'penalise systems that are poorly integrated into cars instead of simply rewarding manufacturers for including the technology'. Will driver monitoring systems be standard in the UK? While Britain is yet to formally adopt the EU's GSR2 rules, car makers are already installing them in UK-bound models to keep manufacturing costs down. And Sir Keir Starmer's Government said last month that it is likely to apply the regulation to British-sold motors to prevent higher costs of production being passed on to buyers. Lord Hendy, Minister of State for the Department for Transport told parliament that the government 'takes an explicit presumption in favour of alignment' in regard to how cars are manufactured. He added that the Government would be 'considering options for requiring the fitment of the safety technologies mandated by the EU's general safety regulation' and would discuss these with individual manufacturers, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, and the National Franchise Dealers Association. Across Europe, GRS2 regulations have been introduced over a three-phase period, beginning in July 2022. However, from 7 July 2024, all new models entering production must have all 19 mandatory safety features. The EU rules stipulate that ISA cannot be permanently disabled and instead must automatically activate each time the vehicle starts. It is then up to the driver if they want to turn it off before each journey. EU mandated new vehicle safety technologies through the General Safety Regulation (GSR2) Intelligent Speed Assist (ISA): recognises traffic signs and provides an overspeed warning. It warns the driver when the speed limit is exceeded to increase speed limit compliance and reduce the severity of collisions. Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB): a collision avoidance feature that scans the forward path of the vehicle for potential impact targets and applies braking to avoid or mitigate a collision. Driver Drowsiness & Attention Warning (DDAW): an occupant monitoring feature using a driver-facing camera for direct driver monitoring. If it detects a driver looking away from the road for too long, it triggers warnings. Emergency Lane Keeping System (ELKS): a collision avoidance feature using forward-facing cameras and RADARs to prevent a vehicle leaving the lane of travel. Alcohol Interlock Installation Facilitation (AIIF): allowing for the application of aftermarket alcohol interlock devices in vehicles. Event Data Recorder (EDR): a black box in all cars that records and stores vehicle data shortly before, during, and immediately after a road traffic collision. Electronic Stability Programme (ESP): helps to prevent a loss of control in cornering and during emergency steering by stabilising the car if it veers off its intended path. This is generally already fitted to most new models. Emergency Stop Signal (ESS): when brakes are forcefully applied, the rear indicator lights will flash to alert other vehicles behind the car. Reversing Detection Systems (RD): alerts the driver to the presence of people or objects at the rear of the vehicle with the primary aim of avoiding collisions when reversing. Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS): monitors tyre air pressure and provides feedback in real-time to the driver to prevent accidents caused by under-inflated tyres. Cybersecurity: addresses the increase in connected vehicles on European roads which require robust cybersecurity to prevent them from being stolen. Systems to replace driver control: includes 'Level Three' autonomous features which will pave the way for Automated Vehicles to be adopted in the EU. Motorists already hate - and turn off - these features With cars on Britain's roads installed with one, a handful, or all of these 19 safety features, drivers have already voiced their concerns about them being too intrusive. A recent poll of 1,500 UK drivers by Which? found that many are being frustrated by the tech. The consumer watchdog found that speed assist is being switched off by nearly half (46 per cent) of users who have it built into their motors. Most people surveyed said they had disabled this function because they felt they didn't need it. Lane-keep assist was the second safety feature most likely to be disabled according to Which?'s survey (42 per cent). Half of those who said they switch it off did so because they found it either dangerous, annoying or distracting. On-board cameras and sensors detect lane and road-edge markings and manoeuvre the driver into staying in their lane, but this may be flawed while driving on narrow roads and can fail to account for cyclists or parked cars. Last year, Which? and This is Money received hundreds of complaints from MG4 EV owners who told both us and the consumer watchdog that the system in their Chinese electric cars would steer them into danger rather than help them to avoid it. The third safety feature drivers were likely to switch off according to the Which? survey was emergency braking (34 per cent). Some 32 per cent turn off DDAW, the study found. Three in 10 motorists also told Which? they switch off their blind-spot monitoring feature because they didn't need it, or they found it distracting or annoying.
Telegraph
29-07-2025
- Automotive
- Telegraph
Brexit row as Labour aligns with EU on breathalysers for British cars
'Following the UK's exit from the EU, differences between UK and EU regulations mean some manufacturers make cars specifically for the GB market,' said a government spokesman. 'This can add costs to the manufacturing process, which are liable to be passed onto GB consumers, so we're considering aligning with EU car safety regulations to keep car prices down.' Unlike the animal health rules, the European Commission has not asked the UK to align on car safety, which is a purely British decision. British and European law were identical, but in 2022, after the UK left the EU, Brussels introduced the General Safety Regulation 2 (GSR2), which means the rules have diverged. From July last year, all new vehicles in the EU have had to be pre-installed with an interface allowing a breathalyser-based locking system to be connected to the car. This system stops the car working if the driver fails the breathalyser test. The GSR2 also requires Event Data Recorders (EDRs) – similar to airplane black boxes – and Driver Drowsiness Warning (DDAW) in new vehicles. DDAW uses technology to monitor drivers and alert them if they appear to be getting sleepy, while EDRs record data such as the speed travelled before an accident. GSR2 rules already apply on all cars sold in Northern Ireland, which continues to follow many EU rules under the Brexit deal to prevent a hard Irish land border. Divergence risks making it more difficult for Northern Irish consumers to access the British car market, with fears it could push up costs if it continues for much longer. The Government believes that aligning with the EU rules will protect the UK's internal market and mean Northern Irish drivers can keep buying from the mainland. It told The Telegraph all regulatory changes were assessed for their impact on safety and cost. It has already changed British law to mirror Brussels' regulations on in-car e-call systems. The systems automatically contact emergency services if there is a serious accident. There have also been moves to create the legal base for the installation of the breathalyser technology, but not yet to make it mandatory. Even though the safety technology is not compulsory in Britain, many manufacturers install it already because their vehicles are destined for the EU market. Mike Hawes, the chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said: 'With the heavily integrated nature of the UK and European automotive sectors, regulatory alignment supports efficient production, keeping costs down for consumers while retaining the widest possible model choice.' Sam Lowe, a trade expert and partner at Flint Global, said: 'Ensuring you only need one type approval for the entire European market is a cost saver for anyone selling across all the different countries even if the UK for example had a distinct, better or more simple, regulation. 'The savings have to be pretty big to offset the cost of doing things twice and slightly differently.' 'Alignment by stealth' However, industry sources and the Government said there was some evidence that manufacturers had begun making cars just for the British market, which is the second largest in Europe. Brexiteers said that proved that divergence could work and accused the Government of 'alignment by stealth'. Labour has used statutory instruments, a mechanism to update legislation, to mirror the EU changes to regulations already on British law books as a legacy of bloc membership. Sir Iain Duncan Smith, a former Tory leader, said: 'They are sneaking this through because statutory instruments do not end up in debate. This is a game being played out where they keep incrementally moving back towards the European Union. This is their plan. This is not a one-off.' Sir Iain said that aligning to typically more draconian EU rules would make cars more expensive and trade deals with car-producing countries, such as the US, harder. 'It screws up all your trade potential elsewhere. Your negotiating capacity is massively reduced,' he added. 'We lose all the competition, all the trade potential, and we lose control. Because now some faceless bureaucrats in Brussels run the UK, which is what we left the EU to stop.' Mark Francois, the chairman of the Conservative European Research Group, added, 'This is still rule-taking from the EU, however you try and dress it up. Our car industry is already under massive pressure from Chinese dumping of electric vehicles on world markets, so something which stifles domestic innovation and adds to regulatory burdens hardly helps.'
