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Older adults disproportionately hindered by touch screen interfaces (2023)

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Re: Older adults disproportionately hindered by touch screen interfaces (2023)

#71

Post by dageshi »

MaximilianEmel wrote: post #20
VyseofArcadia wrote: post #17

We should NOT have touch screen interfaces in cars. Full stop. If the driver has to divert their gaze from the road to operate e.g. the heating/AC[0], that is a failure of UX sufficiently egregious to keep the car off the road. It is not a toy, it is not a fashion statement, it is a thousand pound chunk of steel that will indiscriminately kill and maim if not operated with care and diligence. [0] This is the complain…

While I much prefer physical buttons, I do think gestures could be made to work.

I believe BMW just got rid of gesture controls, which they've had for a long time in the past month.

Re: Older adults disproportionately hindered by touch screen interfaces (2023)

#72

Post by WarOnPrivacy »

SoftTalker wrote: post #49
jeffbee wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We shouldn't have 89-year-old drivers in cars, either. Full stop. In my city we've had three pedestrian fatalities in less than a year and all the drivers were aged 79 or older.

At least make them pass a road test. Make sure they can operate the car safely at the posted speed limit. Give them a vision test, maybe limit them to daytime driving. Some 90 year olds are fine to drive, but I agree many are not. And driving around 10-20 mph under the limit is a hazard in itself.

> At least make them pass a road test. Make sure they can operate the car safely at the posted speed limit.

... and perform 3 controls-based actions (ex: climate adjustment, audio).

The testee commonly provides their own car for OTR tests. If they drive a model with physical controls, it could better for everyone.

Re: Older adults disproportionately hindered by touch screen interfaces (2023)

#73

Post by wyre »

SoftTalker wrote: post #9
somanyphotons wrote: post #6

2026: Car makers include a moist page-turning-sponge on dashboard cluster

I know most people just buy what is available but I hope there's continued pushback on touch screens in cars. They're terrible.

Has there ever been a product segment that has removed "innovative" features because of consumer pushback? Asking in good faith, I hope it's happened, but I can't think of anything.

Re: Older adults disproportionately hindered by touch screen interfaces (2023)

#74

Post by legitster »

Johnny555 wrote: post #59
legitster wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only counterpoint to this - when it comes to interacting with managing audio and navigation, the alternatives to a touchscreen are probably more dangerous. Maybe the worst offender was Lexus who offered a mouse pointer in lieu of touchscreen until quite recently. But I agree that there should be a federally mandated set of commonly-used buttons while driving that have to be tactile - windows, HVAC, audio, etc.

>when it comes to interacting with managing audio and navigation Depends what you mean by managing audio - 90% of my audio interaction is adjusting volume and pressing the next/previous buttons. All easily done on my steering wheel buttons, though there are buttons near the radio to do the same thing (though they are capacitive buttons that are barely better than a touchscreen). I recently discovered that the "mute"…

We do lots of long roadtrips with the kids. So switching between child specific playlists or audiobooks is something we have to do.

Android Auto was honestly a game changer. Good voice controls, minimum distractions, and if you do have to interact with it it's fairly minimal.

Re: Older adults disproportionately hindered by touch screen interfaces (2023)

#75

Post by legitster »

illwrks wrote: post #54
legitster wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only counterpoint to this - when it comes to interacting with managing audio and navigation, the alternatives to a touchscreen are probably more dangerous. Maybe the worst offender was Lexus who offered a mouse pointer in lieu of touchscreen until quite recently. But I agree that there should be a federally mandated set of commonly-used buttons while driving that have to be tactile - windows, HVAC, audio, etc.

I’ve not used the mouse pointer but the previous models had a rotary encoder which is easier to work with. What isn’t mentioned is that there are hardware controls on the steering wheel for volume, next previous etc so you don’t need to interact with things very much

Hardware controls are not useful if you listen to lots of audiobooks/podcasts/etc.

Re: Older adults disproportionately hindered by touch screen interfaces (2023)

#76

Post by WarOnPrivacy »

lupusreal wrote: post #60
legitster wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only counterpoint to this - when it comes to interacting with managing audio and navigation, the alternatives to a touchscreen are probably more dangerous. Maybe the worst offender was Lexus who offered a mouse pointer in lieu of touchscreen until quite recently. But I agree that there should be a federally mandated set of commonly-used buttons while driving that have to be tactile - windows, HVAC, audio, etc.

Fucking around with your stereo while driving has never been safe.

> Fraking around with your stereo while driving has never been safe.

I offer it depends on the stereo. My radio adjusts are rarely more than a single button push and/or a knob tweak. Eyes aren't required.

Re: Older adults disproportionately hindered by touch screen interfaces (2023)

#77

Post by Lammy »

_yb2s wrote: post #41
VyseofArcadia wrote: post #17

We should NOT have touch screen interfaces in cars. Full stop. If the driver has to divert their gaze from the road to operate e.g. the heating/AC[0], that is a failure of UX sufficiently egregious to keep the car off the road. It is not a toy, it is not a fashion statement, it is a thousand pound chunk of steel that will indiscriminately kill and maim if not operated with care and diligence. [0] This is the complain…

Might be fine for non-critical entertainment systems which nowadays also take voice control, but never critical vehicle functions. Things like hazard lights and HVAC should be illegal to be on touch screens.

> Might be fine for non-critical entertainment systems which nowadays also take voice control

As someone who uses a lot of greasy sunscreen lotion during long sunny-day drives: no, they still aren't. I don't want to talk to my car in the first place, and it probably couldn't hear me anyway with the music loud and the windows down.

Re: Older adults disproportionately hindered by touch screen interfaces (2023)

#78

Post by WarOnPrivacy »

dageshi wrote: post #68
aurareturn wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if Gen Alpha will prefer pure touchscreen controls in cars.

The youngest in gen alpha are just being born, there's a real chance they may not learn to drive at all because self driving is ubiquitous.

> there's a real chance they may not learn to drive at all because self driving is ubiquitous.

I don't see unattended self-driving becoming the norm during the next 20 years. I'm skeptical it'll happen in 50 years.

There are an uncountable number of non-foreseeable driving events and road conditions. I believe we'd have to rethink/redesign roads to adjust to limitations of FSD.

Past that: A top reason for late teens not driving now is parents can't afford car insurance rates that approach their housing costs.

Re: Older adults disproportionately hindered by touch screen interfaces (2023)

#79

Post by rblatz »

GJim wrote: post #63
jedberg wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Previously it was a political 3rd rail to even suggest a maximum driving age. "You can't take my freedom to travel!!". But now, with Uber/Lyft/Waymo and all the other options, it seems much more reasonable to implement such a thing. Why do we have to wait for someone to cause an accident before we take their license?

> Uber/Lyft/Waymo and all the other options You mean taxis?

You are greatly understating the value and improvement that these services brought. Especially around accessibility.

In the city I grew up in taking a taxi was basically not an option. You can now typically get a ride from Uber or Lyft within 10 minutes.

In the city I moved to for college there were plenty of Taxis but could take 30+ minutes for one to show up, or maybe it would never show up and you’d have to call another company and hope they would eventually send someone to you.

These are anecdotes, but the massive increase in for-hire rides after these companies were introduced does show that they did improve the experience and made for-hire rides more accessible and appealing.

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