Driver Monitoring Systems to Become Mandatory
Overview
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism incorporated requirements for drowsiness warning and distraction warning systems into the safety standards for road vehicles and related regulations, following the adoption of international standards by WP.29. The requirement applies to new vehicle types from September 2031 and to vehicles in continued production from September 2033. The amendments were promulgated and took effect on September 30, 2026; the provisions mandating the systems take effect on October 20, 2026.
Key points
- Requirements for drowsiness warning and distraction warning systems are incorporated into the safety standards and related regulations, and installation is mandated for covered vehicle types.
- The requirements apply to new vehicle types from September 2031 and vehicles in continued production from September 2033.
- The amendments also clarify requirements for installing headlamp beam direction adjustment devices.
Overview
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism is progressively expanding and strengthening automobile safety standards and related requirements while pursuing international harmonization, to ensure safety and other objectives.
Following the adoption of international standards by the United Nations World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29), requirements for drowsiness warning and distraction warning systems have been incorporated into the safety standards for road vehicles and related regulations.
Impact
Wider adoption of these systems is expected to help prevent traffic accidents caused by drowsy driving or driver distraction by detecting drowsiness and failure to watch the road ahead early and issuing warnings.
Details
The requirements cover motor vehicles, excluding motorcycles, motorcycles with sidecars, three-wheeled motor vehicles, light motor vehicles with crawler tracks or sleds, and trailers.
The systems are defined as monitoring the driver's condition and warning the driver when drowsiness or distraction is detected. The relevant provisions are Articles 43-11 and 43-12 of the safety standards.
The amendments are promulgated and take effect on September 30, 2026. However, the amendments mandating drowsiness warning and distraction warning systems take effect on October 20, 2026.
Other necessary amendments include clarifying requirements for installing headlamp beam direction adjustment devices.