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But even then, how do you find the A/C or volume control on a touch screen without taking your eyes off the road, without accidentally touching something else?

But even then, how do you find the A/C or volume control on a touch screen without taking your eyes off the road, without accidentally touching something else? You just can't feel your way to the volume knob. Sure, you are a responsible driver and would only do that at a traffic light or other completely safe situation, but I don't know how many accidents touch controls in cars already caused with less responsible drivers, trying to adjust their AC while driving by an elementary school.

oven9342 3y ago
People have already died because of the screens “The ship's user interface [touch screen] was found to have contributed to the sailors' confusion.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_John_S._McCain_and_Alnic_MC_collision https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_John_S._McCain_and_Alnic_M...
- stby 3y ago
  Seems to be a US Navy thing (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Air_Flight_655#Potential_factors https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Air_Flight_655#Potential_...). On a more serious note, there's a big difference between a vehicle like a car that is operated by one person, and a ship with a large crew with dedicated tasks.
  - forgetfreeman 3y ago
    True. With a car there are fewer eyes monitoring the situation and frequently little or no time to correct from a mistake.
  - oven9342 3y ago
    Each crew member should have been assigned the management and activation of a given portion of the touchscreen. Morning briefing by the Captain: “John, you’ll supervise and operate the bottom left corner of the Touchscreen. Adam, as a left handed sailor, you’ll stand right to John and operate the bottom right corner of the Touchscreen with your left hand so there are no collisions in case of emergency” Aye, captain
    - hef19898 3y ago
      The control interface you know is the touchscreen of your smartphone, isn't it?
- jkestner 3y ago
  ProPublica did excellent reporting on this: https://features.propublica.org/navy-uss-mccain-crash/navy-installed-touch-screen-steering-ten-sailors-paid-with-their-lives/ https://features.propublica.org/navy-uss-mccain-crash/navy-i...
modeless 3y ago
Volume is on the steering wheel. A/C is automatic and I don't need to touch it the vast majority of the time. While driving the most I might want to do is adjust the temperature, and since it's not safety critical I can choose a convenient time. It's at the bottom of the screen so it is easy to do by grabbing behind the bezel and only requires a quick glance to align your thumb. In practice I glance at physical A/C controls when adjusting them too, so I don't see a big difference here. If you really need to adjust the temperature so often and can't stand the thought of using the touchscreen, you can assign that function to the left scroll wheel.
- generic92034 3y ago
  > While driving the most I might want to do is adjust the temperature, and since it's not safety critical I can choose a convenient time. That is good reasoning, but are you sure a high number of drivers are also waiting with adjustments, instead of fumbling on the screen while continuing to drive?
  - otherme123 3y ago
    A lot of people send and read phone messages while driving. I highly doubt that same people gives a second thought before playing with the screen while driving, unless they are under a real stressing situation (pouring and twisted road at 2 AM).
    - generic92034 3y ago
      Exactly. That is why physical buttons you can use without looking are so much better. For the perfect driver it does not matter so much, but that is a rare species.
    - RHSeeger 3y ago
      If the choice is between 1. Physical controls that you can interact with without the need to take your eyes off the road 2. Touch screen that you need to look almost every time, much of the time while actually interacting with it. But you can mitigate that by using it more responsibly, waiting until you are at a stop, our out of range of anything you might need to react to (which might not happen for 10 minutes or even longer) Then #1 is clearly the winner. Because 2 is more dangerous for everyone on the road (not just you with your own behavior, but everyone else that might act irresponsibly and hit you). We specifically craft laws to make people interact with their phones less (hands free only, etc) because "people must act more responsibly" is not a reliable solution.
maccard 3y ago
> You just can't feel your way to the volume knob Yes you can. My last three cars have had a volume knob under the left thumb. My current car has a second volume knob behind the gearstick, and the A/C is the only analog dial along the center console. I can easily adjust both without looking away.
- RHSeeger 3y ago
  I have volume controls and similar on my steering while, and I never use them.... because I can never remember which is where. I prefer my stereo controls to be in the stereo controls area, my climate controls to be in the climate control area, etc. Spreading them out makes it more annoying to deal with.
  - SoftTalker 3y ago
    Yeah I really dislike controls of any kind on the steering wheel. Should not have more than a horn button in the center.
elif 3y ago
I know it will cost me karma to point it out, but in a Tesla you can use voice control to adjust your AC/radio/navigation while your eyes are on the road and your car's 10 eyes are on the road.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- alistairSH 3y ago
  Does it work if you have a thick (non-American or non-RP) accent? Serious question. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMS2VnDveP8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMS2VnDveP8
  - grndn 3y ago
    As one of the comments pointed out, it's even funnier if you turn on the automatic captions :)
    - alistairSH 3y ago
      Exactly. I have a mild accent, but my dad still has a thick brogue. Would a car understand him? Not if it's using the same algorithm as YT's captioning.
- JohnFen 3y ago
  I don't think voice control is a good replacement because I tend to play music in the car.
vel0city 3y ago
I don't change the AC while I'm in motion. All my cars have auto AC so I rarely touch them even as the temperature changes outside. I probably adjust the AC a handful of times a year. I'd rather not waste a lot of dashboard space on buttons that practically never get pressed, I'd rather have my map be even bigger and easier to quickly glance at and have more space to browse my media collection while stopped. I don't understand how so many people have come across cars with seemingly terrible auto AC systems. Even my old 2000 Honda Accord had a competent auto AC system. I haven't had manual AC on any of my cars in decades. Whenever I rent a car it's always infuriating having to constantly muck with the AC system.
- me_me_me 3y ago
  this is akin to it works on my PC so not an issue
  - vel0city 3y ago
    I'm not talking about a single car, I'm talking about several different makes and models over the last couple decades. Works on my machine implies it's something special about that one device. My experience has been auto AC has worked fine with several different car models from several different makers across the last 24 years of car manufacturing.
    - me_me_me 3y ago
      I am talking about a use case that works for you but not others - due to preference, hardware limitations etc. My car can only turn AC on and off. What about me then?
      - vel0city 3y ago
        I take it your AC controls aren't behind a touchscreen then? I'm mostly arguing having AC controls on a screen aren't that big of a deal, because chances are if they're on a touchscreen they're auto, and if they're auto you really shouldn't need to ever really mess with them while moving. The only real exception to this would be defrosters, but I do agree there should be a least a physical defrost toggle button.
NovemberWhiskey 3y ago
My car has no physical climate controls etc. I just use the voice controls. “Hey Google, set the driver’s side heated seat to one” “Hey Google, turn off the steering wheel heater”
- guappa 3y ago
  Judging from how google subtitles my videos on youtube, this would look like a comic gag for most people.
  - NovemberWhiskey 3y ago
    In my other car, which adheres to the “buttons for nearly everything” philosophy, the steering wheel heater (for example) is down by the driver’s left knee, even using it via the touchscreen is probably safer. Experiences with this sort of thing are subjective, but I’ve never had any problems with Google Assistant in the car.
- crote 3y ago
  "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that" "I'm sorry, could you please repeat your query?" "I'm sorry, I did not understand that request" "You said 'Heated Seat', calling closest contact 'Holly Smith'..."
- antifa 3y ago
  In my experience it'll probably work out a little more like: "Hey Google, lower the volume" "Calling $NAME_OF_DECEASED_PERSON_OR_RANDOM_RESTAURANT"
  - guappa 3y ago
    An immigrant taxi driver wanted me to say the street where I wanted to go, for google maps. It would have been ~20x faster to just let me type it. At least I had told him the general area, so we were getting there even while I kept repeating the address and maps was getting it wrong.

oven9342 3y ago

People have already died because of the screens “The ship's user interface [touch screen] was found to have contributed to the sailors' confusion.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_John_S._McCain_and_Alnic_MC_collision https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_John_S._McCain_and_Alnic_M...

stby 3y ago
Seems to be a US Navy thing (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Air_Flight_655#Potential_factors https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Air_Flight_655#Potential_...). On a more serious note, there's a big difference between a vehicle like a car that is operated by one person, and a ship with a large crew with dedicated tasks.
- forgetfreeman 3y ago
  True. With a car there are fewer eyes monitoring the situation and frequently little or no time to correct from a mistake.
- oven9342 3y ago
  Each crew member should have been assigned the management and activation of a given portion of the touchscreen. Morning briefing by the Captain: “John, you’ll supervise and operate the bottom left corner of the Touchscreen. Adam, as a left handed sailor, you’ll stand right to John and operate the bottom right corner of the Touchscreen with your left hand so there are no collisions in case of emergency” Aye, captain
  - hef19898 3y ago
    The control interface you know is the touchscreen of your smartphone, isn't it?
jkestner 3y ago
ProPublica did excellent reporting on this: https://features.propublica.org/navy-uss-mccain-crash/navy-installed-touch-screen-steering-ten-sailors-paid-with-their-lives/ https://features.propublica.org/navy-uss-mccain-crash/navy-i...

modeless 3y ago

Volume is on the steering wheel. A/C is automatic and I don't need to touch it the vast majority of the time. While driving the most I might want to do is adjust the temperature, and since it's not safety critical I can choose a convenient time. It's at the bottom of the screen so it is easy to do by grabbing behind the bezel and only requires a quick glance to align your thumb. In practice I glance at physical A/C controls when adjusting them too, so I don't see a big difference here. If you really need to adjust the temperature so often and can't stand the thought of using the touchscreen, you can assign that function to the left scroll wheel.

generic92034 3y ago
> While driving the most I might want to do is adjust the temperature, and since it's not safety critical I can choose a convenient time. That is good reasoning, but are you sure a high number of drivers are also waiting with adjustments, instead of fumbling on the screen while continuing to drive?
- otherme123 3y ago
  A lot of people send and read phone messages while driving. I highly doubt that same people gives a second thought before playing with the screen while driving, unless they are under a real stressing situation (pouring and twisted road at 2 AM).
  - generic92034 3y ago
    Exactly. That is why physical buttons you can use without looking are so much better. For the perfect driver it does not matter so much, but that is a rare species.
  - RHSeeger 3y ago
    If the choice is between 1. Physical controls that you can interact with without the need to take your eyes off the road 2. Touch screen that you need to look almost every time, much of the time while actually interacting with it. But you can mitigate that by using it more responsibly, waiting until you are at a stop, our out of range of anything you might need to react to (which might not happen for 10 minutes or even longer) Then #1 is clearly the winner. Because 2 is more dangerous for everyone on the road (not just you with your own behavior, but everyone else that might act irresponsibly and hit you). We specifically craft laws to make people interact with their phones less (hands free only, etc) because "people must act more responsibly" is not a reliable solution.

maccard 3y ago

> You just can't feel your way to the volume knob Yes you can. My last three cars have had a volume knob under the left thumb. My current car has a second volume knob behind the gearstick, and the A/C is the only analog dial along the center console. I can easily adjust both without looking away.

RHSeeger 3y ago
I have volume controls and similar on my steering while, and I never use them.... because I can never remember which is where. I prefer my stereo controls to be in the stereo controls area, my climate controls to be in the climate control area, etc. Spreading them out makes it more annoying to deal with.
- SoftTalker 3y ago
  Yeah I really dislike controls of any kind on the steering wheel. Should not have more than a horn button in the center.

elif 3y ago

I know it will cost me karma to point it out, but in a Tesla you can use voice control to adjust your AC/radio/navigation while your eyes are on the road and your car's 10 eyes are on the road.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
alistairSH 3y ago
Does it work if you have a thick (non-American or non-RP) accent? Serious question. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMS2VnDveP8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMS2VnDveP8
- grndn 3y ago
  As one of the comments pointed out, it's even funnier if you turn on the automatic captions :)
  - alistairSH 3y ago
    Exactly. I have a mild accent, but my dad still has a thick brogue. Would a car understand him? Not if it's using the same algorithm as YT's captioning.
JohnFen 3y ago
I don't think voice control is a good replacement because I tend to play music in the car.

vel0city 3y ago

I don't change the AC while I'm in motion. All my cars have auto AC so I rarely touch them even as the temperature changes outside. I probably adjust the AC a handful of times a year. I'd rather not waste a lot of dashboard space on buttons that practically never get pressed, I'd rather have my map be even bigger and easier to quickly glance at and have more space to browse my media collection while stopped. I don't understand how so many people have come across cars with seemingly terrible auto AC systems. Even my old 2000 Honda Accord had a competent auto AC system. I haven't had manual AC on any of my cars in decades. Whenever I rent a car it's always infuriating having to constantly muck with the AC system.

me_me_me 3y ago
this is akin to it works on my PC so not an issue
- vel0city 3y ago
  I'm not talking about a single car, I'm talking about several different makes and models over the last couple decades. Works on my machine implies it's something special about that one device. My experience has been auto AC has worked fine with several different car models from several different makers across the last 24 years of car manufacturing.
  - me_me_me 3y ago
    I am talking about a use case that works for you but not others - due to preference, hardware limitations etc. My car can only turn AC on and off. What about me then?
    - vel0city 3y ago
      I take it your AC controls aren't behind a touchscreen then? I'm mostly arguing having AC controls on a screen aren't that big of a deal, because chances are if they're on a touchscreen they're auto, and if they're auto you really shouldn't need to ever really mess with them while moving. The only real exception to this would be defrosters, but I do agree there should be a least a physical defrost toggle button.

NovemberWhiskey 3y ago

My car has no physical climate controls etc. I just use the voice controls. “Hey Google, set the driver’s side heated seat to one” “Hey Google, turn off the steering wheel heater”

guappa 3y ago
Judging from how google subtitles my videos on youtube, this would look like a comic gag for most people.
- NovemberWhiskey 3y ago
  In my other car, which adheres to the “buttons for nearly everything” philosophy, the steering wheel heater (for example) is down by the driver’s left knee, even using it via the touchscreen is probably safer. Experiences with this sort of thing are subjective, but I’ve never had any problems with Google Assistant in the car.
crote 3y ago
"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that" "I'm sorry, could you please repeat your query?" "I'm sorry, I did not understand that request" "You said 'Heated Seat', calling closest contact 'Holly Smith'..."
antifa 3y ago
In my experience it'll probably work out a little more like: "Hey Google, lower the volume" "Calling $NAME_OF_DECEASED_PERSON_OR_RANDOM_RESTAURANT"
- guappa 3y ago
  An immigrant taxi driver wanted me to say the street where I wanted to go, for google maps. It would have been ~20x faster to just let me type it. At least I had told him the general area, so we were getting there even while I kept repeating the address and maps was getting it wrong.