Contrariwise: Driven to Distraction

New vehicles are giving drivers little option but to shift their attention to touch screens.

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Car manufacturers have made great strides in auto safety over the last 20 years. At the forefront of these advances are digital technologies that can keep a car in its lane, automatically brake to avoid a collision, and even call for help in an emergency.

But unfortunately, in their zeal to drive us into a digital future, these same car manufacturers are going too far. I speak of the rising reliance on touch screens inside vehicles.

In the beginning, touch screens — essentially large smartphones built into the dashboard — were a practical way to integrate satellite and Bluetooth radio, GPS-guided directions, and other useful comfort and entertainment options into vehicles. But the core controls for driving were left largely unaltered, at least from the driver’s perspective.

But designers couldn’t just leave them alone.

In a time when state legislatures are inking new laws to combat distracted driving, in-dash touch screens, which require a steady hand and concentration to use, are hijacking drivers’ attention to perform even basic driving tasks, like turning on headlights and windshield wipers, checking the vehicle’s speed, and even, in at least one case, shifting gears.

And distracted driving has become a big problem. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that accidents caused by distracted driving in 2022 led to 3,308 traffic deaths and 289,310 injuries. Thousands more motorists have their cars dinged, dented, or destroyed by drivers who just can’t keep their eyes off their digital doodads. And now new vehicles are giving drivers little option but to shift their attention to touch screens.

Aside from the horrifying statistics, the overreliance on touch screens presents a usability issue, too. If any part of a driver’s hand accidentally comes in contact with a spot on a touch screen, it’s likely to activate some feature, and not necessarily the desired one. Finding the right spot to tap requires some concentration on the screen.

Quickly disappearing are the days when physical, analog knobs and buttons give drivers the ability to turn down the radio, flip on the headlights, and start up the windshield wipers simply by feel — even on the potholiest of streets — without taking their eyes off the road. Instead, they must split their attention between the road and the screen, adding a level of complexity to what was once a simple action. It’s unnecessary and it’s dangerous.

I’m not opposed to technological upgrades in general. Customizable digital readouts can declutter and streamline dashboard gauges. Heads-up displays that project driving speed and other data directly on the windshield are a wonderful high-tech safety feature.

But when I have to focus on what’s inside the car instead of on what’s happening in front of it, it’s gone too far. So give me back my dials, my levers, my physical buttons that I can control solely by feel, and let me keep my eyes on the road where they belong.

 

This article is featured in the January/February 2025 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. Subscribe to the magazine for more art, inspiring stories, fiction, humor, and features from our archives.

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Comments

  1. Timely article on the distracting touch screens in new cars.. It does require a steady hand and many of us are aware of this because the iPhones pose the same problem… accidentally barely touching the screen and accidentally changing it is an issue. However in a car it’s a matter of life and death.
    I pray my 2019 car lasts forever because driving and concentrating on a touch screen is really scary..

  2. I relate this to the driverless cars and those who wish to use them in there roundabouts. Distracted driving is as dangerous, if not more so than the autonomous cars. Too many innocent lives have been lost due to idiots more preoccupied with their devices or screens than having eyes on the road and hands on the wheel while going from point A to point B. Motorcyclists, bicyclists, and pedestrians are a lot of the victims of these careless drivers. Lawsuits filed, lives lost or seriously maimed as a result of these careless drivers inability to focus.

  3. Nothing new here. Two years ago rental car company gave us a new Dodge Dart. Had an iPad in the middle of the counsel. Took two people to drive, one behind the wheel and the other to find the controls on the iPad. Tough driving it in Southern CA. Even the person from the rental company couldn’t figure out how to turn off the overhead light. Wouldn’t take the car if given to me, was glad to turn it in. Poor engineering.

  4. Agree with you on everything here, Andy. We have a situation of where too much is never enough. The car companies are in fierce competition with each other to remain ‘cutting edge’ despite the immense danger as you describe here.

    Much of it to appeal to FOMO people with that toxic value system of just having to have the latest thing even if it’s driving them into the poor house. They can’t afford these cars, and can barely keep up the lease payments.

    Half the new cars in L.A. are banged up and smashed as it’s so dangerous to drive, from driver stupidity, greed and selfishness. No surprise there; God!

    I drive when I have to, and keep my ‘98 RAV-4 in top running condition. It’s pretty basic with a radio, CD player and most importantly, really great a/c. Love the simplicity. If I need to go somewhere new, I’ll Mapquest it first, then use the iPhone Waze app with verbal directions as/if needed.

    Though it’ll never happen, if anyone were to ask/encourage me to get a new car, I’d say sure, as long as you’re paying for everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING! No? Okay then. Have a beautiful day.

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