Ulrich Hottelet and Benjamin MüllerUlrichHottelet and Benjamin Müller
4 min
The assistance system continuously evaluates head position, gaze direction and eye movements to determine whether the driver is distracted.Bosch
The EU’s new Advanced Driver Distraction Warning rules apply to new cars across the bloc. The systems monitor whether drivers are looking away from the road, raising a key question alongside their safety role: how is in-cabin camera data processed, protected and who, if anyone, can access it?
Since 7 July 2026, the EU’s rules on Advanced Driver Distraction Warning (ADDW) have applied to new vehicles. In practice, many systems use an in-cabin camera to monitor whether the driver’s attention remains on the road and issue a warning if distraction persists. The July 2026 deadline follows the introduction of ADDW requirements for new vehicle types in July 2024.
The aim is to reduce crashes caused by distraction. But who can access the camera data, and could it be transmitted to manufacturers, public authorities or other third parties?
ADDW is part of Regulation (EU) 2019/2144, the EU’s General Safety Regulation, adopted in 2019. The detailed technical requirements are set out in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2590. New vehicle types have had to comply since July 2024; from 7 July 2026, the requirement was extended to new vehicles at the next registration and market-entry stage. Existing vehicles do not have to be retrofitted.
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Many manufacturers were therefore prepared well before the latest deadline and had already introduced camera-based monitoring. ADDW sits within a wider package of mandatory safety systems that also includes driver drowsiness and attention warning, intelligent speed assistance and event data recorders.
The EU rules define concrete thresholds. At speeds of 12.4 mph or above, a warning is required if the driver’s gaze remains in the defined distraction area for six seconds under nominal conditions. At 31.1 mph or above, the threshold falls to 3.5 seconds. The regulation also defines areas within the driver’s field of view that are treated differently when assessing distraction.
Cameras can be integrated into the steering column, instrument panel, A-pillar or rear-view mirror. Near-infrared camera technology is particularly relevant because monitoring has to work in low-light conditions as well as during the day. More than 9,500 crashes in Germany in 2025 were attributed to distraction at the wheel, according to the German Road Safety Council, citing Federal Statistical Office figures. ADT has also reported on near-infrared sensing being integrated directly behind vehicle displays for driver and occupant monitoring.
Continental’s “Road AND Driver” camera is a system solution designed to support the safe handover of driving responsibility in automated driving.Continental
ADDW is more than a warning chime. The EU requirements call for a visual warning together with an acoustic and/or haptic alert, and manufacturers may use escalating warnings until the distraction ends. Previous events, driver behaviour, road conditions or weather can also be taken into account. If a sensor is persistently obstructed or the system detects a permanent fault, the driver must receive a visual fault warning.
The system can be switched off, depending on the implementation, but normal operation must return with each activation of the vehicle master control switch.
What happens to the camera data?
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Here the regulation sets strict boundaries. ADDW must not continuously record or retain data beyond what is required for the purpose for which it was collected or processed within a closed-loop system. Data must not be accessible or made available to third parties and has to be deleted immediately after processing.
In practical terms, the architecture is based on local processing inside the vehicle rather than continuous transmission of an interior video stream to an OEM, authority, insurer or other recipient. The rules are also intended to prevent driver identification through the ADDW function. Additional data unnecessary for the system’s operation may not simply be collected alongside the camera information.
That distinction matters in increasingly connected vehicles. In other use cases, anonymised vehicle data can be shared deliberately with external organisations, for example to assess road conditions or infrastructure. ADDW is designed around a much tighter closed-loop model. Mercedes-Benz, for example, is already supplying anonymised vehicle data for infrastructure projects in Germany and the Netherlands.
Social-media posts have nevertheless fuelled concerns that mandatory in-cabin monitoring could become state surveillance. The regulatory framework points in the opposite direction: it limits retention, prohibits third-party access to ADDW data and requires deletion after processing.
Germany’s automotive industry association VDA considers fears of permanent surveillance unfounded. A spokesperson told automotiveIT: “Concerns that interior images are permanently stored, drivers are identified or data is transmitted to manufacturers, authorities, insurers or other third parties are unfounded in view of the applicable legal requirements. The statutory obligation for driver attention monitoring creates legal certainty by defining clear data-protection parameters for the use of this safety function.”
The VDA concludes: “The ADDW regulation is an important example of how road safety and data protection can be considered together and combined in a meaningful way.” The association also points to assessments by Germany’s federal and state data-protection authorities.
The press office of Germany’s Federal Commissioner for Data Protection likewise told automotiveIT that Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 prohibits the relevant data from being transferred to third parties and requires it to be deleted immediately after processing. It therefore regards the statutory provisions as sufficient from a data-protection perspective. The wording of Article 6 confirms both the prohibition on third-party access and immediate deletion after processing.
When does the GDPR apply?
Michael Will, the Bavarian state data-protection official responsible for matters involving BMW and Audi, distinguishes between data that remains inside the vehicle and data processed by the manufacturer. Under vehicle type-approval law, he told automotiveIT, an OEM becomes subject to obligations when it determines the means and purposes of data processing. “That is not the case here, because as long as the data stays in the car, the manufacturer does not process the data.”
In that scenario, Will argues, the GDPR does not apply to the manufacturer because there is no such processing by the OEM. He says there is no data extraction from the ADDW system and that warning-system data does not flow into the vehicle’s event data recorder. The distinction is important because event data recorders are subject to a separate set of requirements under the General Safety Regulation.
BMW has told his office that the camera can communicate with the MyBMW app, but that end-to-end encryption prevents BMW itself from accessing the information. “So far, I have had good experiences with BMW and Audi. They approach us proactively on data-protection issues,” Will said.
