Lane Keeping Assist Systems (LKAS) are a key component of (semi-) automated driving functions, allowing for more comfortable driving on highways or in traffic jams. Today, all of those systems are designed to be driven “hands on”. However, one can observe a certain misuse of these types of systems, particularly if they allow for extended “hands off” driving without warning the driver. The United Nations is amending UN regulation 79 on “Steering equipment” to add some technical requirements to LKAS in order to address driver misuse related safety concerns. Entering into force on April 1 st 2018 for type approval of new vehicle types, and applicable to all new production vehicles from April 1 st 2021 on, R79 will require LKAS-equipped vehicles to provide a means of detecting that the driver is holding the steering control. There are, in principle, two technologies that vehicle manufacturers use today to determine whether the driver is holding the steering wheel:​ a capacitive sensor in the steering wheel rim for direct information about whether the hands are holding the steering wheel, or a torque sensor for indirect information via steering activity on the steering wheel. So future LKAS will have to evolve and provide an improved hands off detection performance, combined with an appropriate warning sequence starting, at the latest, 15 seconds after the driver removes their hands from the steering wheel. The new requirements are applicable to vehicle categories M and N.