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