Bringing back control buttons is an idea that is gaining strength in, of all places, the automobile industry. No, it is not just a “retro” movement for the sake of being “retro”. It’s the result of some extensive research on safety, and the problems of trying to put your fingers on the correct area of a touch screen without taking your eyes off the road. The proliferation of touch screens in vehicles has many of us wishing, wistfully, for earlier times when all we had to do was flip a switch or press a button. We also fight, daily, with the dual tasks of trying to pay attention to what we are doing – driving – and trying to figure the multitude of information presenting itself on our vehicles’ touch screen, most of which has nothing to do with our driving requirements at that moment. It’s almost as though the designers want us to crash into the vehicle in front of us or, worse, into the vehicle coming the other way. An inadvertent trek into the bushes on the side of the road seems quite benign by comparison. We all know that using cell phones while driving is a total liability, but so is the touch screen obsession of the car industry.
My latest pet-peeve is the system that make your steering wheel vibrate if you get anywhere near a “lane” marker or the vehicle alongside of you. If that idea is not designed to make you “jump” and cause an accident, I don’t know what is – in a narrow lane, because of roadworks, if a big truck is alongside you, there is no way to stop the vibration. I, initially, thought the front wheel was about to fall of when I first encountered this “marvel” of modern engineering! I finally found out that you can turn it down, not off, but it resets every time you turn the engine off. My mechanic told me that, in some vehicles, these “lane alarms” not only vibrate the steering wheel, but the actual wheels themselves, and have audible alarms to go with them. What lunatic in Detroit thought that was a good idea? Probably, someone who was charged with selling more vehicles!! Automakers should have learned by now that they cannot compensate for all the idiots that are driving on our roads, and that trying to come up with ways of compensating, only makes our time on the roads even more dangerous than it presently is. Vehicle makers, try and think, sensibly please, before you introduce these “modern technological marvels!”
Back to the “buttons” and, heaven forbid, toggle switches.
Apparently, someone is taking notice because law firms are beginning to write advisory notices for vehicles with touch-screen technology. Not, I would add, for altruistic reasons of public safety, but because they can smell yet another revenue stream resulting from the car industry’s dumb decisions. Steinberg Law Firm’s literature quotes the very thorough Vi Bilägare test, which demonstrates that touch-screen controls significantly increase the risk that a driver won’t see a hazard in time to react. Even J.D Power has entered the fray by stating that the majority of drivers prefer physical controls as they can keep their eyes on the road while using them.
Fortunately, some automakers are also taking notice: Honda is bringing back physical controls in its latest “Civic” model; Subaru is putting knobs and buttons back into their vehicles; and Volkswagen will bring back physical controls in their electric vehicles for speaker volume, seat heating, fan speed and hazard lights.
I guess someone is listening to us consumers, for once.
