Featured New safety ratings prioritize touch controls for key driving needs

Calling @Mendel Leisk

A few years ago, I came across an article where auto execs where preparing for when regulations turned against touch screens.

 

LoL; be careful what you wish for. They may start locking out certain functions while the car is in motion or in gear - Just like most nav systems and cell phone mapping software.

 

That would still exclude the car for getting the top safety score under the European and Australian NCAP regulations. The changes specifically call for physical controls to qualify for the top rankings.

 

It's about time. The way these touch screens are going - navigate through one screen, get to another, find what you're looking for, run through a busload of children, select the option you wanted...

Yeah, they've got a lot of functionality, but someone needs to throw a net over the way they're using the touchscreens.

 

As you yourself said, it is not the touchscreens that are dangerous, it is the way it is implemented.

The safest auto UI I ever used had a large touchscreen.
All controls needed for driving required were either on the screen or a single layer deep.

The worst UI I ever used had about 20 buttons which were all in a grid, evenly spaced, same size & shape, and poorly marked.

Give me a well implemented UI and I don’t care if it is on screen or not.

 

it's harder to hit the right spot on a touch screen than a knob/button/switch when the car is moving

 

My Tesla has buttons on the doors and steering wheel but nothing elsewhere. The BMW i3 has a regular compliment of buttons as well the steering wheel.

Bob Wilson

 

It’s not so much the medium: both touchscreens, and a row of identical buttons (some requiring multiple taps while watching a scrolling LCD display, are equally maddening.

It’s a simple question:

can you easily and reliably operate critical controls without needing to divert your attention from the road?

Sadly that has become increasingly less possible, since the mid-eighties.

Good:


(Honda Fit Base Level)

Not so good:


(Honda Fit Upper Level)

 

Having basic AutoPilot or in my case, Full Self Driving, the touch controls are easier to deal with. Multi-modal switches on the steering wheel as well as voice commands help too. Experience with an iPhone or iPad helps.

Bob Wilson

 

Those lockout features were 1st overridden with/by hacks as early as 2005. Wow - 2 decades ago. The override instructions (disabling wheel motion sensors) that came with the devices detailed quite well how to take apart the dash to access the back of the multi-function display. Good times!

 

Even a good UI doesn't have the operation by touch potential like physical controls do.

Then there is the practical considerations for safety regulations. Defining what makes an UI good for safe operation during driving, and developing test methods for it is a bigger burden on regulators. Not saying that it can't be done, but the nature of the interface means it can easily be messed up, like an UI itself.

 

Well, sure, when you can let something else drive the car while you take your hands and eyes off to navigate the ding-binged touch screen, that's a nice answer to a different question.

It's like the last time I had to do an exact-phrase search with Google. Putting the phrase in double quotes used to work. It's what Google's documentation still says works. Hasn't worked for years now. I've seen at least one Google community forum thread started by people asking "ok, since the documentation says to use double quotes to search for an exact phrase, but it clearly doesn't search for the exact phrase anymore, is there some other thing that works that I should be doing to search for an exact phrase" and closed by a moderator without any actual answer from Google.

I finally succeeded by just embracing the AI chatbot and saying please find me the URLs of one or more web pages containing exactly the phrase "..." and hallelujah, it worked.

I suppose it might have used about three thousand more kilowatt hours than an exact phrase search.

 

Full Self Driving has a camera that nags if you go more than 20-30 seconds not looking at the road.

BTW, the fastest way for a Tesla trip is to charge no more than 10 minutes. Once enough charge for the next SuperCharger and 40 miles reserve, get back on the road. Approaching the charger, stop at a bathroom and as needed, a bagged snack. Plug-in, walk the dogs, and enjoy the trip. Recline the seat for a cat nap as needed.

FYI, I have one marginal, window switch, on the driver's arm rest to operate the passenger side window. Eventually, I'll get around to fixing it.

Bob Wilson

 

So as long as their UI designers make sure nothing you need to do takes more than half a minute of screen wrangling, we're good.

 

We have a brand of window-mounted fan, that has the following mode settings:

1. On, high speed
2. On, low speed
3. Thermostatically controlled, high speed, 60F threshold
4. Thermostatically controlled, high speed, 65F threshold
5. Thermostatically controlled, high speed, 70F threshold
6. Thermostatically controlled, high speed, 75F threshold
7. Thermostatically controlled, high speed, 80F threshold
8. Thermostatically controlled, low speed, 60F threshold
9. Thermostatically controlled, low speed, 65F threshold
10. Thermostatically controlled, low speed, 70F threshold
11. Thermostatically controlled, low speed, 75F threshold
12. Thermostatically controlled, low speed, 80F threshold
13. Off

All of these are set by a single button: each push of the button shifts to the next mode. We most commonly just set it to "1" (On, high speed). Then, to turn it off, pull the plug...

We've had it a long time, you need to "fill in the blanks" in the attached.

 

I love the name "1Touch", as in, there's just 1 thing you have to Touch ... 13 times.

 

Exactly. What amazes me, is how a product like this gets out the door. Hey, it works...

 

Let's face it, if the car properely works the wipers and sets the fan properely to set temperatures, then the touch screen really is not that much of a hinderance if it is a good touch screen.

Definitely sometimes voice is needed. Try to set a new destination while driving. I've used it to set dog mode and other seldom used items. The auto wipers use camera's instead of a sensor in my tesla, it doesn't always work. There is a button on the stalk to pop up the wiper menu and then the scroll wheel can be used (button plus scroll) but I konw people unfamiliar with the car have trouble. Tesla definitely has a learning curve but once you get it, it is pretty easy. Easier than the system with more buttons on a bmw and on my 2010 prius. I don't know how well new toyotas are implanted. The problem isn't the touch screen it is the learning curve and implementation. With so many controls a good voice recognition is needed or a co pilot to change navigation or music while driving.

 

I am soooo hoping I will never have to buy a newer car ever again. I'm seriously thinking of just dropping safety and emissions and going with an old air-cooled VW. And don't tell me that those heaters don't work, mine did alright for -20 °F weather at night.

Another major problem I have with modern cars is the backup camera screen is in the wrong place. And the way the dash lights up is also all wrong. When the sun comes in and hits those I can't see them. The backup camera screen needs to be on the rear view mirror. The gauges need to be physical and be easier to see under direct sunlight.