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The only counterpoint to this - when it comes to interacting with managing audio and navigation, the alternatives to a touchscreen are probably more dangerous.

The only counterpoint to this - when it comes to interacting with managing audio and navigation, the alternatives to a touchscreen are probably more dangerous. Maybe the worst offender was Lexus who offered a mouse pointer in lieu of touchscreen until quite recently. But I agree that there should be a federally mandated set of commonly-used buttons while driving that have to be tactile - windows, HVAC, audio, etc.

illwrks 2y ago
I’ve not used the mouse pointer but the previous models had a rotary encoder which is easier to work with. What isn’t mentioned is that there are hardware controls on the steering wheel for volume, next previous etc so you don’t need to interact with things very much
- legitster 2y ago
  Hardware controls are not useful if you listen to lots of audiobooks/podcasts/etc.
  - WarOnPrivacy 2y ago
    > Hardware controls are not useful if you listen to lots of audiobooks/podcasts/etc. Presently, that's what I exclusively listen to. I get in my car and the narration auto-starts where it left off. I occasionally adjust the physical volume knob. I tweak the library at home every couple of months.
  - illwrks 2y ago
    I guess the missing context here is how long the podcasts/playlist is vs how long your journey will take. I can see it being an issue if they are short, in a mixed order and you need to skip ahead etc. I've a habit of stopping every two hours on longer journeys for a rest so that's when I would organise content for the next leg of the trip.
Johnny555 2y ago
>when it comes to interacting with managing audio and navigation Depends what you mean by managing audio - 90% of my audio interaction is adjusting volume and pressing the next/previous buttons. All easily done on my steering wheel buttons, though there are buttons near the radio to do the same thing (though they are capacitive buttons that are barely better than a touchscreen). I recently discovered that the "mute" button on the steering wheel is actually a "pause" button which is perfect since I rarely want to actually mute audio, but just pause it.
- legitster 2y ago
  We do lots of long roadtrips with the kids. So switching between child specific playlists or audiobooks is something we have to do. Android Auto was honestly a game changer. Good voice controls, minimum distractions, and if you do have to interact with it it's fairly minimal.
lupusreal 2y ago
Fucking around with your stereo while driving has never been safe.
- WarOnPrivacy 2y ago
  > Fraking around with your stereo while driving has never been safe. I offer it depends on the stereo. My radio adjusts are rarely more than a single button push and/or a knob tweak. Eyes aren't required.
ericjmorey 2y ago
Lock the screen while the car is not in "Park".

illwrks 2y ago

I’ve not used the mouse pointer but the previous models had a rotary encoder which is easier to work with. What isn’t mentioned is that there are hardware controls on the steering wheel for volume, next previous etc so you don’t need to interact with things very much

legitster 2y ago
Hardware controls are not useful if you listen to lots of audiobooks/podcasts/etc.
- WarOnPrivacy 2y ago
  > Hardware controls are not useful if you listen to lots of audiobooks/podcasts/etc. Presently, that's what I exclusively listen to. I get in my car and the narration auto-starts where it left off. I occasionally adjust the physical volume knob. I tweak the library at home every couple of months.
- illwrks 2y ago
  I guess the missing context here is how long the podcasts/playlist is vs how long your journey will take. I can see it being an issue if they are short, in a mixed order and you need to skip ahead etc. I've a habit of stopping every two hours on longer journeys for a rest so that's when I would organise content for the next leg of the trip.

Johnny555 2y ago

>when it comes to interacting with managing audio and navigation Depends what you mean by managing audio - 90% of my audio interaction is adjusting volume and pressing the next/previous buttons. All easily done on my steering wheel buttons, though there are buttons near the radio to do the same thing (though they are capacitive buttons that are barely better than a touchscreen). I recently discovered that the "mute" button on the steering wheel is actually a "pause" button which is perfect since I rarely want to actually mute audio, but just pause it.

legitster 2y ago
We do lots of long roadtrips with the kids. So switching between child specific playlists or audiobooks is something we have to do. Android Auto was honestly a game changer. Good voice controls, minimum distractions, and if you do have to interact with it it's fairly minimal.

lupusreal 2y ago

Fucking around with your stereo while driving has never been safe.

WarOnPrivacy 2y ago
> Fraking around with your stereo while driving has never been safe. I offer it depends on the stereo. My radio adjusts are rarely more than a single button push and/or a knob tweak. Eyes aren't required.

ericjmorey 2y ago

Lock the screen while the car is not in "Park".