Every new car sold in the European Union must include a driver monitoring camera • Hacker News Board

Re: Every new car sold in the European Union must include a driver monitoring camera

#851

Post by zwckl » Wed, Jul 08, 2026, 11:56 AM UTC

dvratil wrote: post #827

I sometimes wonder how these systems are being tested on the road and whether there's any feedback from the test drivers, or what kind of morons are there saying "this is completely fine, exactly like intended" when they read the feedback... My car has adaptive cruise control and will automatically adjust speed based on speed limit signs. I was on a highway at 130km/h and the car read a 60km/h speed limit sign that w…

I drive a Volkswagen ID3 and it has the same issue. It's baffling. There are certain roads that trip it up for me and make it slam on the brakes: the A2 in Greenwich (a 50mph road in London UK) it'll suddenly think it's now 30mph, and on the M6 Northbound (70mph road in Birmingham, UK) it drops to 50mph. As far as I can see, there are no signs anywhere that the camera can misread.

On one occasion it thought the limit had changed to 100mph, which isn't even a defined speed limit in the UK.

Re: Every new car sold in the European Union must include a driver monitoring camera

#852

Post by septune » Wed, Jul 08, 2026, 11:57 AM UTC

epolanski wrote: post #28

A_D_E_P_T wrote: post #6

All new cars. At this point I don't know if I'd buy anything made after 2008. Whenever I rent a new car around here (in the EU) I find them very annoying. The worst is the cruise control that tries to stick to the speed limit -- but its sensors don't always read the signs very well, so you'll often slow to 50 km/h (about 30 mph) for no reason. Then there's the incessant beeping at you, "lane assist" that you can't tu…

Lane assist is also genuinely dangerous when there's men at work on the road and they change the lanes, yet the car tries to stick to the painted ones and I have to fight the car to do what it has to do we don't kill nobody. Also happens it gets confused with freshly painted white/yellow lines when older are still visible.

[dead]

Re: Every new car sold in the European Union must include a driver monitoring camera

#853

Post by capr » Wed, Jul 08, 2026, 11:59 AM UTC

cbg0 wrote: post #791

clarionbell wrote: post #778

Sometimes I feel that EU has an unhealthy obsession with safety, at expense of almost everything else. This is one of those times.

Preventing car crashes and people dying in said crashes isn't an unhealthy obsession with safety.

but that's not what they're doing. that's just you believing the rhetoric

Re: Every new car sold in the European Union must include a driver monitoring camera

#854

Post by upmind » Wed, Jul 08, 2026, 11:59 AM UTC

not saying what the EU does is a good thing but why don't I ever see any legislations like this from the US? we'd still have lightning on iPhones if it wasn't for the EU so some of what they introduce is net positive...

Re: Every new car sold in the European Union must include a driver monitoring camera

#855

Post by duskdozer » Wed, Jul 08, 2026, 12:02 PM UTC

A_D_E_P_T wrote: post #6

All new cars. At this point I don't know if I'd buy anything made after 2008. Whenever I rent a new car around here (in the EU) I find them very annoying. The worst is the cruise control that tries to stick to the speed limit -- but its sensors don't always read the signs very well, so you'll often slow to 50 km/h (about 30 mph) for no reason. Then there's the incessant beeping at you, "lane assist" that you can't tu…

I dread ending up with a modern car though I know it's inevitable for me some day, exactly for these kinds of things that I know will infuriate me. All I can hope for I guess is that people will find ways of bypassing some of them

Re: Every new car sold in the European Union must include a driver monitoring camera

#856

Post by elzbardico » Wed, Jul 08, 2026, 12:02 PM UTC

What about domestic accidents? Domestic violence?

It is clear to me, that we also need cameras in every room in every home and office.

Re: Every new car sold in the European Union must include a driver monitoring camera

#857

Post by duskdozer » Wed, Jul 08, 2026, 12:04 PM UTC

BuyMyBitcoins wrote: post #694

kybernetyk wrote: post #657

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those alarms are pretty much mandated by law. So it's politicians/law makers who "design" those alarms. This smells like inexperienced engineers designing something and then being surprised by side effects. Sadly there's a severe (temporal) disconnect between making the law and seeing its results in person.

I suspect there are plenty of politicians who subscribe to the ‘cars are evil’ mindset and are content with making the driving experience increasingly miserable.

Surely they would be interested in making more infrastructure compatible with not driving then?

Re: Every new car sold in the European Union must include a driver monitoring camera

#858

Post by Tade0 » Wed, Jul 08, 2026, 12:07 PM UTC

silon42 wrote: post #836

Tade0 wrote: post #832

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm happy I wasn't able to activate cruise control in the Karoq that I rented some time ago. VAG interfaces were always confusing to me and this behaviour would be more so. I see signs recognized like that all the time, so use satnav as my reference. Unfortunately if it's not up to date (mine hasn't been for years now), it will suggest speeds which have nothing to do with reality.

I wonder if I should install a popup 30 sign on a rear window for tailgaters in the future.

I'm curious as well, but I'm afraid they don't use such systems due to how they also keep distance as well as speed.

Re: Every new car sold in the European Union must include a driver monitoring camera

#859

Post by hparadiz » Wed, Jul 08, 2026, 12:11 PM UTC

throw2ih020 wrote: post #730

hparadiz wrote: post #545

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a hard time believing that the public at large is gonna be okay with having to blow into a hose anytime they turn on their cars.

No need. There are now sensors which can passively detect the presence of alcohol on anyone's breath within the cabin, and sensors which can detect BAC when you put your finger on them. if alcohol_detected_in_cabin: promptDriverForFingerprint() The same cameras used to monitor if the driver is falling asleep can also check for cheating.

That's nice. You can pay for it. I won't be.

Re: Every new car sold in the European Union must include a driver monitoring camera

#860

Post by elzbardico » Wed, Jul 08, 2026, 12:12 PM UTC

compass_copium wrote: post #627

phoronixrly wrote: post #502

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anyone who's working on making driving a car unbearable has my vote! My bicycle has a single chime and it's manually operated.

Solidarity. Cars belong in the rubbish bin of history. The Soviet Union had the right idea, as usual--make cars unbearable to drive to encourage public transportation.

The Soviet Union never had such a goal. Passenger cars universalization was actually a long term goal of the system, but the soviet system prioritized heavy industry, infrastructure and defense over consumer goods.

That was the reason while Ukraine, before the war, was a huge net exporter of electricity. They never got too many or really good cars, but they do sure had plenty of electric generation plants.

The Chinese apparently learned with this, and used and export oriented economy to have the necessary scale to invest both in heavy industry as well as consumer goods.