We need buttons & dials in cars – and far less screens.
When I saw that cars were coming with no buttons, dials, or switches - just touchscreens I started panicking.
I probably won't ever buy a new car if touchscreen controls are the only option on new cars. I don't find touchscreens to be easy to use, not at all accessible. Having to go through 3 menu choices just to adjust the AC is absolutely unacceptable. And the whole thing of having a computer screen on your dashboard actually seems quite dangerous for what should be obvious reasons.
The EU is going to require cars to have buttons & dials and less touchscreens. I wish the US cars were thus.
The Verge - Cars will need fewer screens and more buttons to earn 5-star safety rating in Europe - Euro NCAP will introduce new testing rules in 2026 that require vehicles to have physical controls to earn the highest safety score. by Jess Weatherbed Mar 5, 2024, 7:31 AM EST “The overuse of touchscreens is an industry-wide problem, with almost every vehicle-maker moving key controls onto central touchscreens, obliging drivers to take their eyes off the road and raising the risk of distraction crashes,” said Matthew Avery, director of strategic development at Euro NCAP, to the Times. To be eligible for the maximum safety rating after the new testing guidelines go into effect, cars will need to use buttons, dials, or stalks for hazard warning lights, indicators, windscreen wipers, SOS calls, and the horn. Some manufacturers like Tesla and Volkswagen have gained a reputation for placing basic vehicle controls behind touch-sensitive interfaces. There’s no shortage of complaints about such features, but equipment manufacturers continue to push touchscreen interfaces because they’re more cost-effective to produce than physical buttons and dials.
Of course, but of course Tesla is the worst at this. A family member's Tesla was what brought this to my attention a couple years ago actually and started me panicking about new cars. But it's just like how many of us assumed that we were becoming out of touch, and old, and that's why we struggle with modern technology, but Ed Zitron and Cory Doctorow have pointed out that no, that's not it, it's enshittification of tech products and services, and it's objectively harder to use things. And I would argue there's been a degradation of products and services across the board since the Great Recession. Things have never come back. I have to just assume that some people have become inured to the degradation or they have enough money to be able to overcome it, or that young people just aren't old enough to remember when things were better. I know that many people too often think you can't have communication or community or connect with other people online without social media which is ridiculous.
That said, because we're being forced into social media to one degree or another, I found out about this EU rule from someone on social media. But this was not inevitable and doesn't have to be. Social media with its algorithms and tech tycoon control is something that can be changed if we want to as a society.
David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social February 27, 2025 at 11:27 AM Next year, the EU will require cars to have buttons & dials -- not just touchscreens -- to get a top safety rating. This is a great move. Drivers can fiddle with knobs & buttons without taking their eyes off the road, but they can't do that with touchscreens. (Even better: Tesla will hate this) To everyone saying "car touchscreens seem dangerous": You're completely right. Here's a story I wrote about it. Nice to see Europe take the danger seriously. Meanwhile, the US continues to ignore it.
I'm sure Tesla will hate this, and probably Elon Musk will prevent anyone from having anything else because he's completely taken over the federal government. I think every scrounging scammy company will hate it because they don't want to provide workable products anymore, all of the economy is based upon a confidence game of investments and valuations. And none of these corporations value human life or care about public safety at all.
The Screen in Your Car Is Beckoning “Infotainment” systems are becoming flashy, feature-packed distractions—and carmakers are just getting started. By David Zipper Sept 07, 2021 “The more complex the infotainment systems get, the less people understand them,” Kuang says. With American traffic fatalities recently hitting a 15-year high, an infotainment arms race seems like the last thing we need right now. The car industry is poised to give us one anyway. Today’s drivers take it as a given that their cars allow them to receive phone calls, send text messages, and route their trips, but those functionalities are actually quite new. In 2010, the New York Times published a story about emergent safety risks as the “internet creeps onto car dashboards.” Ray LaHood, the secretary of the Department of Transportation at the time, was concerned that carmakers could “load automobiles with all kinds of ways to be distracted.” His fears seemed justified; some early infotainment systems allowed the driver to access social media or read restaurant reviews. In 2013 NHTSA issued guidance establishing maximum lengths of time that infotainment tasks should entail (each task should be completed with glances of two seconds or less, totaling no more than twelve seconds), while recommending that particularly dangerous activities, like accessing social networks or watching videos, be blocked while the car is in motion. But the term “guidance” means what it implies—it is merely a suggestion, which automakers can ignore.
A police officer in Vermont was found to have been watching a right-wing Matt Walsh youtube video at the time he killed a bicyclist in traffic with his police car. I don’t think we want to make that easier to do!
VTDigger - Shelburne police officer had YouTube video playing in cruiser at time of fatal crash, court records say Kyle Kapitanski is set to be arraigned next week on a felony charge stemming from the crash that killed Sean Hayes, a cyclist, in South Burlington. by Alan J. Keays March 7, 2025, 5:37 pm State police’s review of the tablet showed “several Youtube” web addresses accessed between 2:29 a.m. and 2:40 a.m, the charging document stated. Nebeker’s review also determined that the last web browser video “appeared visually consistent” with what was shown on Kapitanski’s body-worn camera, Gelder wrote. A link to the last video was provided in the filing; it is titled, “Trans woman CONFRONTING Matt Walsh takes UNEXPECTED turn.” Nebeker added that during the 11 minutes the device was playing YouTube videos, there was “no evidence of user interaction” with it. David Sleigh, Kapitanski’s attorney, said Friday that he planned to challenge Judge David Fenster’s finding that there was probable cause to support a felony charge of gross negligent operation with death resulting.
My letter to reps:
We need buttons & dials in cars – and far less touchscreens. Or at least mandate that there be options without touchscreens. Why on earth would anyone want to have to go through 3 touchscreen menus to adjust the AC in the car while driving? I probably won't ever be able to buy a new car if touchscreen controls are the only option, it's just not workable for me and it feels really dangerous. Somebody needs to put a stop to this touchscreen garbage trend in cars.