The latest cars hitting showrooms are packing new EU-mandated safety systems, but drivers are already saying they’re distracting, annoying, and sometimes even dangerous.
A What Car? investigation tested the Driver Drowsiness and Attention Warning (DDAW) system on six brand new models and found they can be “irrational” and “erratic”, sometimes setting off false alarms when drivers were actually paying attention. In some cases, they even missed the moments when drivers were deliberately looking away.
What’s DDAW?
It’s a driver monitoring system with a camera aimed at you. If it thinks you’re distracted, drowsy, or nodding off, it will sound an alarm, flash warnings on your dashboard, or even shake the steering wheel.
Here’s the issue
The systems are supposed to stop crashes caused by distraction, but constant false alarms can be so frustrating that many drivers switch them off. EU rules say these features have to turn back on every time you start the car, so you would need to dig through menus to disable them before every trip. In What Car?’s tests, some models were fine, like the Mazda CX-80, but others pinged drivers for no reason or failed to react when they should have.
Why’s this happening now?
Since July 2024, EU law has made DDAW and 18 other safety features mandatory on new models, including speed limiters, lane keeping assist, and black box recorders. The UK hasn’t officially adopted the rules yet, but carmakers are still fitting them to British-bound cars to save on production costs. The Government has hinted it might follow the EU anyway.
The bigger picture
Distraction and impairment cause over a third of fatal crashes in Britain. Done right, driver monitoring tech could save lives. Done badly, it’s just another bong interrupting your drive.
A recent survey backs this up. 32% of drivers who have DDAW switch it off. Nearly half with speed assist turn it off too. Many say these features can be distracting, unpredictable, or even dangerous on narrow or complex roads.
As What Car?’s Claire Evans puts it, "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."
