I test drove a 2024 Tesla Model 3. It was a perfect car except for one thing: No turn signal stalk. That's basically a no-go for me.
European crash tester says carmakers must bring back physical controls
561–570 of 660 posts
Re: European crash tester says carmakers must bring back physical controls
#562Earlier quoted context omitted.
Much easier to have a single physical button.
Overstated. It's at best marginally easier to hit a random physical button on the center console than to hit a single button on the bottom bar of a Tesla screen, where it is very easy to grab by design. I generally don't hit those physical buttons without at least a glance, and that's all it takes for the Tesla bottom bar buttons too. This doesn't save the wiper situation, though, because that requires navigating men…
Why touch screens should be an absolute no-go for anything safety adjacent: gloves. The overwhelming majority of touch screens just do _not_ work with the user wearing gloves.
If I get into a car and it's -20F out, last thing I want to be doing is removing my gloves to operate a fucking touch screen to turn on heater/defroster/defogger/wipers, etc. And I absolutely, definitely, without a doubt, do not want to have to be removing/putting gloves back on while actually driving to adjust anything.
Re: European crash tester says carmakers must bring back physical controls
#563The ideal car control has the following: Everything that was in the car twenty years ago needs to have physical buttons. This includes the controls for the audio system that were there twenty years ago. The touch screen should be exclusively be exclusively reserved for CarPlay or Android Auto, no overlays or pop ups or anything from the car manufacturer. Ideally there is a second screen, maybe in the mirror like some BMWs hav, to be used for the backup camera. Car companies should stick to what they are strong at and what they have perfected and not mess with it while they leave the fun software stuff to SV companies.
Re: European crash tester says carmakers must bring back physical controls
#564Earlier quoted context omitted.
I disagree, whenever in the past I needed to use the honk, I've failed to do so because it's hard to press and requires you to take one hand off the wheel, which is the last of your instincts when you panicking, or both if you are juggling your gearstick.
Your instincts suck. Sorry to be blunt. It's similar to correcting a slide: your brain won't do it automatically, but it's worth learning because it's a safety feature. If somebody enters your lane at speed, the safest thing to do is to let them know you're there . Swerving or breaking in response multiplies the problem, as now there are two cars driving erratically. The horn won't always resolve everything, but it's…
>Swerving or breaking in response multiplies the problem, as now there are two cars driving erratically.
Holding your steering wheel with a single hand will cause you to drive erratically too.
>The horn won't always resolve everything, but it's by far the most effective way to get somebody's attention in a hurry.
That's why it should be possible to activate it with an easy to reach button or lever, preferably next to the emergency lights, instead of a heavy pressure button right in the center of the steering wheel.
Re: European crash tester says carmakers must bring back physical controls
#565It is like a 2+2=4 equation that touchscreen blocks more time out of the road to carry out simple controls over the car.
Mazda in 2019: “And of course with a touchscreen you have to be looking at the screen while you’re touching...so for that reason we were comfortable removing the touch-screen functionality,” And still to this day, Mazda has minimum controls over a touchscreen.
https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1121372_why-mazda-is-pur...
Re: European crash tester says carmakers must bring back physical controls
#566Earlier quoted context omitted.
But even then, how do you find the A/C or volume control on a touch screen without taking your eyes off the road, without accidentally touching something else? You just can't feel your way to the volume knob. Sure, you are a responsible driver and would only do that at a traffic light or other completely safe situation, but I don't know how many accidents touch controls in cars already caused with less responsible dr…
Volume is on the steering wheel. A/C is automatic and I don't need to touch it the vast majority of the time. While driving the most I might want to do is adjust the temperature, and since it's not safety critical I can choose a convenient time. It's at the bottom of the screen so it is easy to do by grabbing behind the bezel and only requires a quick glance to align your thumb. In practice I glance at physical A/C c…
No. Ventilated and heated seats are something I want to control easily. And when driving in the sun I have the AC set to 64. When driving at night it's set to 72.
And it's different if I drive with the top down depending on weather. I don't need to look at the buttons to do that now.
Re: European crash tester says carmakers must bring back physical controls
#567I couldn't agree more. Touch screen aren't cool, they're a necessary inconvenience where there's no room for physical controls (ie, phones and tablets) and can have some uses in multimedia systems, but using them for driving related or critical controls in cars is both stupid and dangerous: latency and lack of feedback could distract the driver attention away from the road, then a single hit on the screen and the use…
> they're a necessary inconvenience where there's no room for physical controls Hear, hear! and yet, SpaceX thought it was a good idea to make the controls in their space ships mostly touchscreens as well. Utterly insane, IMHO.
It was already stated (possibly here or a space related blog) that they have all critical controls replicated on mechanical switches.
Re: European crash tester says carmakers must bring back physical controls
#568Self driving will largely make this topic irrelevant soon, however in the meantime, their time would be better spent developing a measurement of intuitiveness for touchscreens.
With a few exceptions that they've since corrected, in a Tesla operating most functions comes naturally, it's similar to using an iPhone. Even the lack of gear shifter in the Cybertruck isn't throwing me off (though they did put an additional touch control for it by the rear view mirror).
Re: European crash tester says carmakers must bring back physical controls
#569Too bad we don‘t have crash testers in the IT industry.
Re: European crash tester says carmakers must bring back physical controls
#570> Now, Euro NCAP is not insisting on everything being its own button or switch. But the organization wants to see physical controls for turn signals, hazard lights, windshield wipers, the horn, and any SOS features This is much more reasonable than I assumed. Unlike seemingly most people here I have no problem whatsoever with fan controls or audio controls or whatever on the touchscreen, as long as it is responsive (…
>> I have no problem whatsoever with fan controls or audio controls or whatever on the touchscreen, as long as it is responsive (of course the vast majority of car touchscreens are not, but some are).
It was -27f/-33c this morning when I started my car. At those temperatures ALL touchscreens generally become slow and unresponsive, especially when wearing mittens. I want the defrost/fan/temperature controls on a physical switch. I also don't want a screen that isn't happy unless it is getting a full 12v/14v. Not all car batteries will give that when cold. Frankly, I'd be happy with a series of valves ... anything other than a touchscreen.
Fyi, automatic wipers are a nightmare in winter. It is very easy for them to break if caked in snow. Standard procedure being to start the car first and let it warm up as you remove the snow and ice. So you need them to be on a physical switch to ensure they are off prior to turning the car on.