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Are touchscreens in cars dangerous?

(www.economist.com)
238 points Brajeshwar | 1 comments | 20 Sep 25 15:57 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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jleyank ◴[20 Sep 25 16:03 UTC] No.45314479[source]▶
They're quite difficult to use without looking at them, and I've got better things to look at while driving. Better buttons that don't move and have "presence" than I can feel without looking.
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doug_durham ◴[20 Sep 25 16:39 UTC] No.45314881[source]▶
I have two cars with two different button layouts. I have to look at the physical buttons to use them. It's no different for me than a screen.
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non_aligned ◴[20 Sep 25 16:52 UTC] No.45315001[source]▶
I would be surprised if that's the case. For commonly-used functions, you quickly learn knob shapes and their general locations. I'm sure you can adjust volume without looking in both cars.

With touchscreens, it's not just that you lose the tactile component, but all these interfaces are modal, with buttons that disappear or move around depending on the screen you're on.

Oh, you're on the radio screen? There's no way to adjust seat heating from here... or if there is one, it's in a different place than on the AC screen.

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1. doug_durham ◴[20 Sep 25 17:36 UTC] No.45315400{3}[source]▶
I'm not arguing the physical buttons "can" be used to have muscle memory so you can use them without looking. What I'm saying is that it isn't a guarantee. The good thing about CarPlay is that the screen interface is the same regardless of the car I'm driving. I get an instinctual level of interaction.