Should touchscreen controls in vehicles be banned?

[PTR 444]

As somebody who has recently started driving again after a long break, I’ve realised how vital it is to have an understanding of where the controls are, so you can use them while the vehicle is in motion without having to take your eyes off the road. This is easy enough in a car with physical buttons (even better if they are tactile, not that I know of any car models which have them), but many modern cars now come fitted with the default controls on touchscreens, which makes it impossible to differentiate between controls without taking your eyes off the road.

The thing is, we have a widely enforced hand-held mobile phone while driving ban in this country, yet using a built-in touchscreen which can be just as distracting isn’t also illegal. It’s a shame vehicle manufacturers haven’t realised the implications of not having physical buttons, since a process where you previously didn’t have to take your eyes off the road has now become frustratingly difficult. Thankfully, the car I drive has physical buttons, with some even built into the steering wheel for extra accessibility (which should be encouraged), but even so the similarity of some of them makes me wonder whether this could be improved by putting Braille or tactile markers on some of them. At the end of the day, you need to be able to know what control you’re using without needing to look at it while your eyes are focused on the road.

 

[zwk500]

Anything that draws eyes off the road should be discouraged. That said there's a lot of merit in having a touchscreen to find the more arcane settings to save on having a vast sea of buttons and instead keep key controls (radio on/off, volume, channel, map controls, etc) in large, easy to find without looking buttons but leave things like imperial/metric units in the touchscreen.

 

[Lewisham2221]

I agree. My current car, I can adjust the blowers (temperature, speed and position) without taking my eyes off the road. Not only do I know where the controls are, I can tell what setting they are on by the number of "clicks" I feel as I turn them. I know of several other cars where these functions can only be controlled by touch-screen, which requires eyes off the road and is therefore totally inadequate and inappropriate IMO.

 

[birchesgreen]

Mine is just used for the radio (which i have off anyway), the parking camera and a few config options. I wouldn't be happy if you had to use the screen for anything else especially things like the heater.

 

[JohnMcL7]

There was a Swedish site which compared an old 2007 Volvo to current touchscreen cars:

Physical buttons outperform touchscreens in new cars, test finds

Physical buttons are increasingly rare in modern cars. Most manufacturers are switching to touchscreens – which perform far worse in a test carried out by Vi Bilägare. The driver in the worst-performing car needs four times longer to perform simple tasks than in the best-performing car.

www.vibilagare.se

I have a 2011 car which has all physical controls and all the buttons have different shapes and feels so I can easily make changes without even looking at them, I think cars should have physical controls for basic features like the heating/cooling. Features like sat nav I can understand having touch support as that can be a real pain without it although it's not really something that should be in use when driving anyway.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It should be mandatory to have physical switches for heating/ventilation/aircon (even if they just drive software) and the hazard lights as well as audio volume.

Other stuff fine but you shouldn't fiddle with that when driving anyway.

Obviously grandfather rights need to apply.

Should not be locked while driving as a passenger could operate it. Notably the most stupid design I have seen is the Vauxhall Mokka, where it is angled toward the driver so this is harder! An option would be to interlock it with the "passenger seat occupied" detector so it is fully locked unless the passenger seat is occupied.

 

[Ediswan]

As has been alluded to above, it is more to do with having to look 'inside' than touchscreen per se.

I had an 02 car with built in GPS. The car was all physical controls, no touchscreen. The main GPS control was a large rotate/push knob. Easy enough to find that knob by touch. Impossible to use it without looking at the screen.

 

[zwk500]

Should not be locked while driving as a passenger could operate it. Notably the most stupid design I have seen is the Vauxhall Mokka, where it is angled toward the driver so this is harder! An option would be to interlock it with the "passenger seat occupied" detector so it is fully locked unless the passenger seat is occupied.

Given how simple it would be to bypass the detector this would be rather pointless. A good bag of shopping would do most of the time.

 

[RailWonderer]

The 1986 Buick Riviera had a CRT touch screen but Buick replaced it in 1993 out of concerns its smart features and self fault diagnosis would distract drivers from the road and reviewers at the time said the same.

Essential features should require physical buttons like climate control, seat and wheel movement, as well as physical buttons to switch from music to radio, sat nav and vehicle settings.

 

[gg1]

Should not be locked while driving as a passenger could operate it. Notably the most stupid design I have seen is the Vauxhall Mokka, where it is angled toward the driver so this is harder!

I've seen that in a few other cars, it's a deal breaker for me shopping for a new car. When I'm travelling with my partner in the passenger seat (which I am for virtually all my long distance driving), it's generally her that uses the touchscreen when changing audio or satnav settings.

 

[MasterSpenny]

My answer to the thread title: no. You need settings controllable through a touch screen.

 

[Enthusiast]

Frankly whoever came up with the idea of placing a multi-menu touch screen unit controlling functions necessary to drive a car, within reach of the driver, needs sectioning under the Mental Health Act. Those who gave type approval to such devices should be close behind them.

It is said that more than 40% of accidents are caused by driver distraction. That doesn't surprise me whilst they are given a multi-menu toy to play with. The hand-held phone legislation needs to be extended to encompass all gadgets which distract the driver's attention, whether hand-held or not. Manufacturers should be compelled to remove touch screen displays from their models.

 

[pdq]

The main problem with the touch screen on my Octavia is the number of times it takes a long time (ie more than a few seconds) to boot up, meaning no way of changing any HVAC settings while it brings up the screen.
The car does have a few physical buttons, but some are a strange choice - I can change the mode from eco/normal/sport, and set that the tyres are the right pressure from a physcial button. These are surely functions that could easily be within a menu, especially the tyre set which is a once in a blue moon setting. Conversely,
to get to air recirculation if following a particularly dirty diesel, one has to press the button (physical) to get into the HVAC menu then choose recirculation. That's two actions, one of which needs an eye off the road even for a second. It would be betwte if it were possible to fix some functions like this on the 'home screen' so at least they are a single press away, and in a consistent place.

I see that Skoda have made a big thing of mentioning physical buttons in the new Kodiaq and Superb models: https://www.skoda-storyboard.com/en...smart-solution-for-air-conditioning-and-more/

The new generation of Škoda Kodiaq and Škoda Superb models are coming with a major car function control innovation. Rotary and simultaneously digital Smart Dials can be customised by users to intuitively control the functions that are most important to them.
Smart Dials are used to intuitively control the car’s most important user functions. The dials combine rotary control, a press function and a display function and the user can customise their function to a certain extent.
The Smart Dials are three rotary dials that have a distinctive surface texture, which helps make the controls easy to grasp even when the driver is not looking directly at them. In the centre of each of the three dials is a 32 millimetre diameter display that shows the current function of the controller. The central part also serves as a button: by long-pressing the user can switch between functions, which he then controls by turning.
The two outermost Smart Dials are used by the driver and passenger to control the air-conditioning and other related functions. In addition to setting the temperature, the dial can be switched to a mode for controlling seat heating or ventilation. The middle control can then be customised to allow the driver to control up to four functions, choosing from infotainment volume control (the default option), fan speed, airflow direction, iClimate smart air conditioning, driving modes and map zoom. The user can easily set the functions in the appropriate menu on the touchscreen. Between the rotary controls are four additional hardware buttons that control windscreen defrost, rear window heating, internal air circulation and automatic air-conditioning function.

These new controls are remarkably like the ones they used before going all touchscreeny!

 

[trebor79]

I drive a Tesla. There are other issues with it but the touch screen isn't one of them IMO. Heating controls are at the bottom of the screen so temperature can be adjusted (not that I ever need to anyway) just by tapping the screen. I would prefer physical controls, but I don't hate the screen as much as I thought I would.

 

[Cowley]

My answer to the thread title: no. You need settings controllable through a touch screen.

Do you actually drive through?

Essential features should require physical buttons like climate control, seat and wheel movement, as well as physical buttons to switch from music to radio, sat nav and vehicle settings.

Having hired a car in Croatia this last week (some kind of MG thing but it was meant to be a VW T-Roc), it has a touch screen that controls all the heating functions etc, our own car (a Golf) has manual heating controls but a touch screen radio.

My personal opinion is that they might be ok on a car that you’re used to, but I just don’t think they work if you’re not completely familiar with the controls, or (and this is the clincher for me), when you’re driving over non smooth surfaces and your hand is bouncing up and down!

 

[TheSmiths82]

I have a 2017 67 plate Skoda Fabia which had for the time a state of the art infotainment system. However I think the car has the right balance between touch screen and proper mechanical switches. All the infotainment is touch screen part from power and volume, but all the important controls of the car I need to use when driving including the heating are proper mechanical knobs and switches.

I wouldn't want to drive a car that was mostly touch screen, e.g I don't want to go into a menu just to adjust the heating or cruise control. I think NCAP have become far too obsessed with active safety that we have forgotten the basics such as good visibility and logical controls. Thankfully there are still quite a few cars on sale that do have good old fashioned buttons.

 

[Cowley]

I have a 2017 67 plate Skoda Fabia which had for the time a state of the art infotainment system. However I think the car has the right balance between touch screen and proper mechanical switches. All the infotainment is touch screen part from power and volume, but all the important controls of the car I need to use when driving including the heating are proper mechanical knobs and switches.

I wouldn't want to drive a car that was mostly touch screen, e.g I don't want to go into a menu just to adjust the heating or cruise control. I think NCAP have become far too obsessed with active safety that we have forgotten the basics such as good visibility and logical controls. Thankfully there are still quite a few cars on sale that do have good old fashioned buttons.

You’ve definitely summed up how feel about it there. I’m aware that I’ve got more miles on the clock than a 1974 VW Beetle , but some of this stuff feels like a move away from common sense to me.

 

[danm14]

I see that Skoda have made a big thing of mentioning physical buttons in the new Kodiaq and Superb models: https://www.skoda-storyboard.com/en...smart-solution-for-air-conditioning-and-more/

These new controls are remarkably like the ones they used before going all touchscreeny!

Am I the only one that would really dislike having the same dial used for fan speed and audio volume....? That seems like an extremely odd choice.

 

[trebor79]

Am I the only one that would really dislike having the same dial used for fan speed and audio volume....? That seems like an extremely odd choice.

It's a similar concept to that used on the EV6 and Niro EV where the two dials control either radio or heating, and the strip in-between has either heating or media controls. Sounds complicated and messy but works really well.

 

[Peter Sarf]

Really find touch screens tricky. Have to look vary carefully at what you are going to touch. My mate gets me to do things while he is driving. Spend some time backing out of hitting the wrong button as we bounce down the road !.

I always found rotary controls best. I noticed this when I went from a car with a rotary controller for something to a rocker switch - think it was fan speed and very fiddly. It is easier to do without looking if it it something you can grab and then twist, mechanical sliders are a bit worse than rotary but better than buttons.

Touch screens I would almost go as far as to say should be removed from cars they are in already.

 

[GusB]

I've never driven anything with touch-screen controls, but I'm not sure I'd want to. My car is a 17 plate and the only thing that has a multifunction control is the radio/Bluetooth settings, etc., which are on a rotary/push control. Everything else has proper switches and I can feel where they are without having to take my eyes off the road.

 

[skyhigh]

My answer to the thread title: no. You need settings controllable through a touch screen.

Do you? I managed for decades with no touchscreen in sight. I even had a 2017 registered car with no touchscreens.

 

[MotCO]

I have recently bought a Vauxhall Grandland. I was worried that everything would be operated through the touchscreem , but it has physical knobs for almost everything. It has a touch screen for the radio and heater controls, but there are also dials for the heater and I think I can also operate the radio from the steering wheel. The touch screen is also used for display and settings personalisation, and also phone (also via steering wheel) , sat nav and reversing.

The only disappointing thing is the lack of detail in the on-line operating guide. For example, I found out by accident that I can change the current mpg to cumulative mpg etc by pressing the button on the end of a stalk - I never saw that in the manual.

 

[TheSmiths82]

I have recently bought a Vauxhall Grandland. I was worried that everything would be operated through the touchscreem , but it has physical knobs for almost everything. It has a touch screen for the radio and heater controls, but there are also dials for the heater and I think I can also operate the radio from the steering wheel. The touch screen is also used for display and settings personalisation, and also phone (also via steering wheel) , sat nav and reversing.

The only disappointing thing is the lack of detail in the on-line operating guide. For example, I found out by accident that I can change the current mpg to cumulative mpg etc by pressing the button on the end of a stalk - I never saw that in the manual.

That sounds very much like my Skoda, I can even change radio channels without using the touch screen. In fact on most days I never have to use it all unless I am using Android Auto as a sat nav.

 

[FOH]

I'm not yet driving one of these types but I'm sure my next car will be like this. I always thought that when stopped they're great for the flexibility and when driving you'd primarily use voice control eg "set blower speed to half". Is that not the case?

 

[66701GBRF]

Car operation should be buttons/dials/switches. Car entertainment can be touchscreen.

 

[Peter Sarf]

Car operation should be buttons/dials/switches. Car entertainment can be touchscreen.

I was thinking along the same lines except I then thought what happens when only the driver is in the car. I am forever having to fiddle with my radio and 50% of the time I have to look closely at what I miss-touched - its a total liability.

Buttons on the steering wheel seem to be a good alternative - provided they are reasonably intuitive.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Like the OP, I've recently returned to the roads after an extended period away. The car I've bought is an 11-plate Seat Ibiza which thankfully has all the controls as physical buttons... however some of them are not placed particularly well. For example the heated rear window and hazard light buttons are both placed low down near the gear lever, and the horn is only activated in a very precise area of the steering wheel.

Not quite as irritating as my mum's car (also a Seat, but a 17-plate Leon) which has a touchscreen navigation system which thinks you've touched before you actually do: for example you type the postcode in and it offers three options. You point at them to ask a passenger which they think is best, and it thinks you've picked one... and once you've done that it throws a tantrum if you try to change! It also uses blue to highlight the non-motorway option, which is very counter-intuitive!

 

[Peter Sarf]

Like the OP, I've recently returned to the roads after an extended period away. The car I've bought is an 11-plate Seat Ibiza which thankfully has all the controls as physical buttons... however some of them are not placed particularly well. For example the heated rear window and hazard light buttons are both placed low down near the gear lever, and the horn is only activated in a very precise area of the steering wheel.

Not quite as irritating as my mum's car (also a Seat, but a 17-plate Leon) which has a touchscreen navigation system which thinks you've touched before you actually do: for example you type the postcode in and it offers three options. You point at them to ask a passenger which they think is best, and it thinks you've picked one... and once you've done that it throws a tantrum if you try to change! It also uses blue to highlight the non-motorway option, which is very counter-intuitive!

All very distracting.