Drivers are likely to shut off EU-mandated safety features in new cars because they are too distracting, according to new research. Half of in-car driver monitoring systems are so intrusive that they are likely to be turned off, thus defeating the point of having them, What Car? magazine suggested.
Mandated by EU laws, such systems are supposed to prevent drivers from becoming distracted from the road ahead, according to the Daily Telegraph. Cameras and other sensors detect if the driver is not paying attention and issue audio and visual alerts.Although these EU rules do not currently apply to the UK, carmakers include the systems on new vehicles because it is cheaper than redesigning their models to remove them.
Under Labour’s plans for closer alignment with the EU, the UK could formally adopt these EU car safety rules, which also make it mandatory for private vehicles to be fitted with breathalyser technology. During tests around a 10-mile track, the consumer magazine tested six new cars fitted with EU-compliant anti-distraction technology. It discovered that systems from Chinese carmakers Leapmotor and MG were the worst for issuing false distraction alerts, something it said would encourage drivers to disable them before setting off. In contrast, the publication’s reviewers praised Mazda’s anti-distraction technology for working “seamlessly”, and also gave positive feedback about Lexus and Kia.
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, told the Daily Telegraph: “This technology has the potential to save us from ourselves, but car designers have a duty not just to create such safety systems but also reduce the amount of in-car distraction that takes drivers’ eyes off the road and hence sets off the alerts.
“Many of us will have spent too much time fiddling with, and focusing on, a touchscreen on the centre console when we should have been looking out of the windscreen at the road ahead. Ultimately though, drivers should be aware of their responsibilities without relying on the tech to tell them: don’t drink and drive, don’t drive while holding a phone, don’t get behind the wheel while tired, and let your passenger change the music.”
(Pic: Yay Images)
