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Thank you for bringing some sanity to this thread. I think the vast majority of drivers are taking their eyes off the road to adjust media / climate controls e

Thank you for bringing some sanity to this thread. I think the vast majority of drivers are taking their eyes off the road to adjust media / climate controls even in cars with traditional tactile controls. It's a glance to see what the current setting is, or to make sure you hit the button you think you will, switching stations until you find the one you want, or more. That's not to say there are no drivers that exist that actually do operate these things without glancing off the road. I just think they're not nearly as common as these HN threads make them seem. And even cars with touchscreens often have voice controls, which allow for keeping your hands on the wheel in addition to your eyes on the road. Beats tactile controls even, for safety. We know the data's out there and we know there's a very vocal group that would pounce on any supportable conclusions. At some point, a lack of data is data. The Tesla Model 3 has been out since 2017, and despite thread after thread decrying the touchscreen, we've got no evidence of any measurable impact. Maybe it's worth burying this dead horse and moving on.

crazygringo 6y ago
That's a great point. There's truly no difference in terms of distraction between changing the AC with a medium-sized button on a touchscreen, or changing it with a small physical button or medium-sized knob in the center console where it's always been anyways. If anything, the touchscreen is usually higher than where half the physical controls in the center console usually were anyways, and therefore keeping more of the road in your peripheral vision anyways. There's a huge difference between traditional physical controls used constantly during driving that we find and use purely by touch (e.g. blinkers) and the massive grid of badly labeled radio and climate controls in the center console that always required you to look anyways.

crazygringo 6y ago

That's a great point. There's truly no difference in terms of distraction between changing the AC with a medium-sized button on a touchscreen, or changing it with a small physical button or medium-sized knob in the center console where it's always been anyways. If anything, the touchscreen is usually higher than where half the physical controls in the center console usually were anyways, and therefore keeping more of the road in your peripheral vision anyways. There's a huge difference between traditional physical controls used constantly during driving that we find and use purely by touch (e.g. blinkers) and the massive grid of badly labeled radio and climate controls in the center console that always required you to look anyways.