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Study finds that buttons in cars are safer and quicker to use than touchscreens

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Re: Study finds that buttons in cars are safer and quicker to use than touchscreens

#151

Post by ncallaway »

cs702 wrote: post #40
smt88 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I could do almost anything with the buttons in my car without looking away from the road. That's never going to be possible with a touchscreen.

How do you, say, check tire pressure? Setup a new garage-door opener? View your calendar for today? Do you have physical buttons for those things? A car that does everything (or "almost anything") via physical buttons would be insanely hard to use . It would look like, and be about as easy to use as, a jet cockpit. The best approach is clearly not all-physical-buttons, nor all-touchscreen-buttons, nor all-voice-comma…

> How do you, say, check tire pressure?

You shouldn’t do that while driving. If your tire pressure becomes low, the vehicle should alert you. Pull over and check it.

> Setup a new garage-door opener?

You should absolutely 100% not be doing that while driving. I genuinely don’t know how this could even be a question.

> View your calendar for today?

You absolutely should not be doing that while driving.

You haven’t presented any questions for things that are necessary tasks while driving.

Re: Study finds that buttons in cars are safer and quicker to use than touchscreens

#152

Post by dazc »

afandian wrote: post #36
PreInternet01 wrote: post #17

I would love to see some EU legislation about car dashboards. As an occasional driver of many different brands and types of vehicles, I continue to be amazed at the usability crimes being committed in the name of 'looking cool' (stated reason) as well as 'cost savings' (most likely the real reason). Any function that needs to be invoked or setting that needs to be changed by a reasonable person while driving should h…

In the Tesla FSD video[0] the driver spent a lot of time swiping back and forth on the map. If that touchscreen were an iPad, that behaviour would be illegal in the UK. I don't know what the road law is in the US, and if they sell the same Tesla model in the UK. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34268454

[flagged]

Re: Study finds that buttons in cars are safer and quicker to use than touchscreens

#154

Post by messe »

phpisthebest wrote: post #129
messe wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Generally, it only tends to come up in any area where the market seems to be failing consumers. This is interpreted as an externality that the market doesn't account for (in this case consumer safety, in the case of USB-C charging e-waste), which regulations are then introduced to correct for.

>>in this case consumer safety Ironic since safety laws is what put the screens in the cars in the first place, the regulation requiring backup camera's which required large screen to show the picture. >>in the case of USB-C charging e-waste lol, yea that is not the reason for USB-C regulation, nor was that needed at all, and that will handicap either the EU or global innovation. What ever comes next to replace USB-C…

Amazingly bad takes.

> Ironic since safety laws is what put the screens in the cars in the first place

Screens themselves aren't the issue. They didn't mandate touch screens, or the removal of non-touch controls.

(EDIT: in fact, the removal of non-touch controls in place of touch controls is a perfect example of the market resulting in a race-to-the-bottom cost-saving measure that you're in denial of in your other comments).

> lol, yea that is not the reason for USB-C regulation

Care to elaborate on what the reason is then? Because that's the reason I've seen given.

> What ever comes next to replace USB-C either now will never be made and will be stuck

This is misleading. The law is flexible in that regard, and in fact the commission will be required to regularly amend the law.

> or the EU will be left behind has the rest of the world moves on to the better thing

Fortunately, the EU market is too big to ignore.

Re: Study finds that buttons in cars are safer and quicker to use than touchscreens

#155

Post by alchemist1e9 »

My friends called me a Luddite when I list this as a reason I bought a Nissan Leaf over Tesla. I’m very happy with it as it’s perfect for around town, was a lot cheaper, and for my teenage children a lot safer for learning to drive as it’s basically a traditional car.

Re: Study finds that buttons in cars are safer and quicker to use than touchscreens

#156

Post by jasmer »

PreInternet01 wrote: post #17

I would love to see some EU legislation about car dashboards. As an occasional driver of many different brands and types of vehicles, I continue to be amazed at the usability crimes being committed in the name of 'looking cool' (stated reason) as well as 'cost savings' (most likely the real reason). Any function that needs to be invoked or setting that needs to be changed by a reasonable person while driving should h…

Oh, it's the worst. And it's definitely not even cool.

The car industry spends so much money on supposedly relevant things and yet it's a disaster.

App Store and Google Play consoles are also utterly insanely bad.

I think what happens is there is nobody responsible for the experience, just for the function.

It does A, B and C, it looks 'cool' and so that's that.

Re: Study finds that buttons in cars are safer and quicker to use than touchscreens

#157

Post by thefurdrake »

DoingIsLearning wrote: post #24
everdrive wrote: post #9

As folks noted in the other thread on this topic: This is self-evident to most of the HN audience, but the more studies and more awareness is brought to this topic the likelier things are to improve.

Awareness in my view is useless because touchscreens in auto infotainment are far more visually impressive so they will always be preferred from a buyer's perspective. What we need is to build a body of scientific evidence to support regulating Auto infotainment within some form of safety-critical guard rails. It is obvious that touch without mechanical/haptic feedback is dangerous both in terms of decreasing eyes-on…

> far more visually impressive

See, I disagree. I think they look drab, uninspired, and by merely looking at them I can experience some of the emotional pain I know I'm going to feel as frustration while attempting to use it.

I find properly-designed buttons far more impressive.

I am obviously not the target demographic. I've hated touchscreen phones since inception.

Re: Study finds that buttons in cars are safer and quicker to use than touchscreens

#159

Post by jeroenhd »

phpisthebest wrote: post #121
happymellon wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because leaving it "to the market" is always a race to the bottom, and there ends up being no choice on voting with your wallet.

You do know that Touch Screen got included in Cars due to government regulations right? The government mandated Backup Camera's and once you had to put in a screen to serve as display for the backup camera then it only makes since to use that screen for more and more things This is yet another unintended consequence of government regulations, where by now people want to use government regulation to "fix" the problems…

Nobody ever demanded touch screens. Cars already had navigation built in that had no touch screens nor a need for them. Car companies choosing cheap, substandard designs to save a buck is something the car companies decided on.

The market being a race to the bottom is visible in every single space where only a few companies control an entire industry. From supermarkets to cars, from soft drinks to tech, when competition dies down market regulation is the only way to get the interest or the general population taken care of. I'm 100% certain PepsiCo and Big Tobacco would market to toddlers if we allowed them to. Car companies have started to move to electric not because Tesla's cars were such a good business model but because governments are moving to ban internal combustion engines somewhere within the next decade; regulation is forcing these companies to innovate in ways that don't provide an immediate financial profit.

Obviously a state controlled market will always fail, but a purely free market has proven to only serve the richest of the rich. Balanced regulation is key. In my opinion, cars that put common driving controls on touch screen a should never been allowed on the road.

Re: Study finds that buttons in cars are safer and quicker to use than touchscreens

#160

Post by jeromegv »

dazc wrote: post #152
afandian wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the Tesla FSD video[0] the driver spent a lot of time swiping back and forth on the map. If that touchscreen were an iPad, that behaviour would be illegal in the UK. I don't know what the road law is in the US, and if they sell the same Tesla model in the UK. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34268454

[flagged]

Legality is relevant because the law would apply to cars being sold, which is a lot easier to enforce than preventing drivers from using what’s already in the car.
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