The invention relates to an activation system for a vehicle comprising a steering wheel (20) and a semi-autonomous or an autonomous control system. The activation system comprises at least one imaging means (12), such as a camera, having a field of view encompassing at least a substantial portion of the steering wheel arranged to collect, in use, a first image data set representing a raw image of a subject within said field of view. A control module is also provided for processing said first image data and for making a determination as to whether a driver currently has both of their hands on the steering wheel or not. In response to making said determination, the activation system is configured and/or arranged to trigger a semi-autonomous or an autonomous control system.