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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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crazygringo ◴[20 Sep 25 16:27 UTC] No.45314757[source]▶
> An analysis published in 2020 by the Transport Research Laboratory, a British organisation, found that touchscreens impaired a driver’s reaction time more than driving over the legal alcohol limit.

The question isn't whether they're dangerous, anymore.

The question is, when is safety legislation going to be passed that prevents them from being used for any routine adjustments while driving. I.e. windshield wipers, AC, change volume, skip to next track, etc.

Like it's fine if you still use them to input a GPS destination, change long-term car settings, connect a Bluetooth device, etc.

But we need to separate out the actions routinely used during driving and legislate physical controls. Why is there not legislation for this already?

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nothrabannosir ◴[20 Sep 25 19:03 UTC] No.45316286[source]▶
I would support legislation which disables the touch screen when the passenger seat is unoccupied and the vehicle is in motion.

But I admit I’m being selfish: I don’t drive but share the road with people who do.

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LorenPechtel ◴[20 Sep 25 20:10 UTC] No.45316941[source]▶
Yeah, the passenger seat is a problem. I've been very annoyed with my phone before for locking out when my car is in motion--even when I'm not the one handling the phone.
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what ◴[20 Sep 25 21:20 UTC] No.45317664[source]▶
What phone doesn’t let you operate it while in a moving car? I’ve never heard of this.
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1. to11mtm ◴[20 Sep 25 23:51 UTC] No.45318702{3}[source]▶
Not necessarily a 'phone' but an 'app'; Here WeGo often won't let you pick a route for a destination you looked up if you're moving... I say 'often' because it seems to have a mood where sometimes it works but other times it literally shows a sort of 'cannot do this while vehicle is in motion' blocker...