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Anytime I change the AC or point a vent in another direction or grab something from the glove box I have to look away momentarily. Why are touchscreens so much

Anytime I change the AC or point a vent in another direction or grab something from the glove box I have to look away momentarily. Why are touchscreens so much more distracting for basic controls?

crote 6y ago
Do you really, though? I'd bet you don't need to look at the controls to use your turn signals or parking brake. Pretty much every traditional control, including AC and radio, is designed for use by feel only: you jab your hand roughly in the right direction, find the control by feel (perhaps remembering that volume is the right dial, temperature is the left), and adjust it all without looking at it. If you remember the ordering of the controls - which you automatically will after spending more time using them - you'll be able to blindly use them. The problem with touch screens is that, even if you know the exact location of the control, you still must look at the screen to find the exact location. You can't "walk" your finger over the touch screen and press the second button from the left. You can't use any form of muscle memory. Sure, you must still look at the AC if you want to set it exactly at 25 degrees, but nobody does that anyway. You usually just want it to be a little bit cooler, so you twist the knob a tick or two counter-clockwise. And grabbing stuff from the glovebox? Personally, I'd consider that highly irresponsible. You simply shouldn't be doing that wile driving. Wait until you're stopped for a traffic light or something.
- caf 6y ago
  I wonder if haptic feedback as seen in mobile phones could make touch screens usable by feel only.
boring_twenties 6y ago
I don't have to look away for those things, but to be fair, I've been driving the same car for 10 years. *As for your actual question, I'm no authority on this topic, but I suspect the precise hand-eye coordination requires much more of your focus. With your vent example, you can probably see it just fine using your peripheral vision, while staying mostly focused on the road. Failing that, you can at least keep that peripheral vision on the road while you focus on the vent. When you're focusing on a screen, you don't see anything else.

Anytime I change the AC or point a vent in another direction or grab something from the glove box I have to look away momentarily. Why are touchscreens so much more distracting for basic controls?

crote 6y ago

Do you really, though? I'd bet you don't need to look at the controls to use your turn signals or parking brake. Pretty much every traditional control, including AC and radio, is designed for use by feel only: you jab your hand roughly in the right direction, find the control by feel (perhaps remembering that volume is the right dial, temperature is the left), and adjust it all without looking at it. If you remember the ordering of the controls - which you automatically will after spending more time using them - you'll be able to blindly use them. The problem with touch screens is that, even if you know the exact location of the control, you still must look at the screen to find the exact location. You can't "walk" your finger over the touch screen and press the second button from the left. You can't use any form of muscle memory. Sure, you must still look at the AC if you want to set it exactly at 25 degrees, but nobody does that anyway. You usually just want it to be a little bit cooler, so you twist the knob a tick or two counter-clockwise. And grabbing stuff from the glovebox? Personally, I'd consider that highly irresponsible. You simply shouldn't be doing that wile driving. Wait until you're stopped for a traffic light or something.

caf 6y ago
I wonder if haptic feedback as seen in mobile phones could make touch screens usable by feel only.

boring_twenties 6y ago

I don't have to look away for those things, but to be fair, I've been driving the same car for 10 years. *As for your actual question, I'm no authority on this topic, but I suspect the precise hand-eye coordination requires much more of your focus. With your vent example, you can probably see it just fine using your peripheral vision, while staying mostly focused on the road. Failing that, you can at least keep that peripheral vision on the road while you focus on the vent. When you're focusing on a screen, you don't see anything else.