Cars will need fewer screens and more buttons to earn 5-star safety rating in EU(theverge.com)
theverge.com
Cars will need fewer screens and more buttons to earn 5-star safety rating in EU
https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/5/24091043/euro-ncap-safety-rating-europe-2026-touchscreen-buttons-dials
24 comments
Thank goodness someone is going to regulate this. The current state of touch screen interfaces in vehicles is an abomination.
It's too bad that (in the US) NHTSA and IIHS only focus on "crashworthiness" for their ratings, rather than the vehicle's overall safety profile. Safety is more than what happens right after metal hits metal. For a more complete safety picture, these institutions should also analyze and report on attributes of the car that can contribute to crashing.
It would already make a huge difference if safety ratings took into account people outside the vehicle. If a car is essentially guaranteed to kill the occupants of the other vehicle, the cyclist or the pedestrian, it shouldn't get a high safety rating just because its occupants are unharmed - it's still a dangerous murder machine after all.
Right now the US seems to be stuck in a spiral of ever-increasing vehicle size. People look at the larger vehicles around them and they feel unsafe so they buy a larger vehicle - which makes everyone else buy even larger vehicles. The irony is that everyone would be far safer if we all stuck to properly-sized vehicles, because those huge vehicles result in way higher energy collisions.
Right now the US seems to be stuck in a spiral of ever-increasing vehicle size. People look at the larger vehicles around them and they feel unsafe so they buy a larger vehicle - which makes everyone else buy even larger vehicles. The irony is that everyone would be far safer if we all stuck to properly-sized vehicles, because those huge vehicles result in way higher energy collisions.
The spiral of badness seems to be present in so many design decisions. Chunky front ends so you can't see the road in front. Worse aerodynamics and fuel economy. Small cars that are difficult with babies. Massive vehicles that need more road and parking space. Relying on expensive fossil fuels. And touch screens of course.
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There was such a big push by US states to restrict using a phone while driving, so I'm surprised there isn't a similar push for car touchscreens.
I cannot understand why using a phone in a vent-stand is considered not okay, while using the same phone through a different screen is.
Yes, the apps are simpler, but some operations are just as involved.
Yes, the apps are simpler, but some operations are just as involved.
Well yeah, it's a great opportunity for officers to exercise their subjective perception and discretion in pulling over individual drivers. More integrated car screens to confuse with a phone or tablet are a feature not a bug in this regard
Dupe of / more discussion at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39598189
Give me the cabin of a 2005 honda camry. Peak UI design.
I really want to buy a toyota hilux champ, but unfortunately they are not for sale in my country.
I really want to buy a toyota hilux champ, but unfortunately they are not for sale in my country.
Buttons and knobs are great --some MFGs went overboard on frankfurter finger knobs and buttons as well as making them look as cheap as possible --like dull grey cheap parts as if manufactured by Hasbro.
> Car makers in Europe are being encouraged to stop using touchscreens for basic functions like turn signals and wipers
Is it SO terribly expensive to put a stalk on the steering wheel ? (Serious question. I'm asking.)
Is it SO terribly expensive to put a stalk on the steering wheel ? (Serious question. I'm asking.)
It's a matter of scale as far as expense. If my company produces 100,000 cars, and the stalk assembly/parts cost $50, now I've saved 50*100000=5 million dollars a year. To me it's clever in the same way that all-wheel drive users existing brakes to manipulate wheel-power delivery versus a complicated (and expensive) 4WD transmission. Clever, yes, but impossible to use in a tactile manner and thus dangerous because it forces eyes-off-road ( a simple steering wheel button might save money and still afford tactile aspects)
Whatwhatwhat? There are cars where you have to use a touch screen to indicate turns?
I tried several search terms and I cannot find a single example. If somebody has a link, it would be much appreciated.
I tried several search terms and I cannot find a single example. If somebody has a link, it would be much appreciated.
Not screens, but moved from a stalk to buttons on the front of the wheel.
Ferrari has done this before too, but people are really talking about Tesla.
Ferrari has done this before too, but people are really talking about Tesla.
Thanks, that helped me to find an article or two. Tesla's solution looks... okay to me? Turn left, push left hand button on the steering wheel. Turn right, push right hand button on the steering wheel. Of course, this setup has a few fail cases the conventional solutions have not, but that is true for Tesla's steering yoke as a whole. Both seem to require more dexterity for no clear advantage, but they are also not the end of the world.
Personally I think it’s a bad idea. When the wheel is turned you can’t as easily keep track of how to signal left vs right.
Sure, most of the time you’re going straight when you need to use the turn signal, but not all the time.
Sure, most of the time you’re going straight when you need to use the turn signal, but not all the time.
Yea please. Removal of the indicator stalks meant I’d never get another Tesla so hopefully they come back before my lease expires.
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I’m sorry, but why? I thought it was fixable with self-driving technology… /s