Sunday, August 11, 2024

Cars Should Not Rely on Touchscreens



A couple of years ago, I got my first car with a touchscreen. Not that I asked for it. But it's okay because my 2017 Camry allows me to drive without using the touchscreen. I don't have to push a button to see the backup camera, and I don't change the radio station unless I'm going out of town. Dr. Dolittle set up the phone interface, so I don't have to do anything. I still have knobs for the heat and air, windows, locks, trunk, wipers, lights, cruise, and radio volume. If I had to deal with all that on a touchscreen, it would drive me nuts. Besides, I've always known that the more electronics a car has, the more problems I cannot fix myself. Computers are that idea on steroids.

Now Princess is looking for a car to drive her children around in, and is having a hard time buying a late-model anything without an extensive touchscreen. She doesn't need any more distractions. She doesn't want a smart car that may fail and lock her kid inside. How did we get here? Morning Brew takes a close look at how and why we got all these confusing and unsafe touchscreens in our vehicles. (via The Awesomer

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Simple solution 2 the aforementioned problems = Spend more time wrenching on your classic car truck or van

Anonymous said...

Yes my cars range from 18 to 67 years old and newer cars require less maintenance. The trouble is when the newer cars do fail, most hobbyist and even pro mechanics can't fix them because they can't afford the diagnostic equipment. So when a newer car fails it's never, "Hey it was just a _____". Be certain it's gonna be expensive.
xoxoxoBruce

WilliamRocket said...

I have a 20 year old Saab Aero, cost me $2000, spent about the same again on it since, bringing it up to near new car standard.
A very comfortable, surprisingly fast and powerful, and renown safe vehicle on which I owe nothing.
No screen, imagine having to look at a screen trying to find the windscreen demister on a rainy day on a country road with more than normal traffic, with the opposing cars nearly crossing the centre line to avoid a fallen branch, while your dog is vomiting and you're busting for a wee.

My one complaint about my Saab is that I have to push the ON button before I can push the demist button ... STUPID IDEA.

But at least the button is a physical thing, so even in the dark I can get my finger on it.

Lol, nearly went down a different road there.

WilliamRocket said...

$4000 in my money is about $2400 USD

Marco McClean said...

Here's an article from five years ago, about touchscreen-controlled Navy ship problems, and the solution they came up with:
https://news.usni.org/2019/08/09/navy-reverting-ddgs-back-to-physical-throttles-after-fleet-rejects-touchscreen-controls