Touchscreens in cars are as dangerous as mobile phones

I bought a new car last year. It is basically the same as my old car, just an updated model. I was expecting it to have some improved functions – after all, a few years represents a generation in car design – and more safety features, and I was not disappointed.

It had better cruise control, a warning light on the wing mirrors in case I was pulling out into traffic, and a device that vibrates when I move lane on a motorway without signalling. Oh, and a heated steering wheel (which I have not yet had cause to use).

Jeremy Clarkson I am not. I have no real interest in motor cars. I have a brand to which I am loyal, and I couldn’t tell you much more about my own car other than its make and colour. I have, however, become interested in one particular aspect of car development that has been presented as technological progress but which I believe to be dangerous.

My previous car had lots of nice features, from the radio to the satellite navigation system, that were operated by buttons, and a control wheel on the console that helped you scroll through on-screen options. It was, in a sense, the ultimate digital system, in that everything was controlled, intuitively, by one’s fingers.

In my current car, a later model, the buttons have been replaced by a touch screen. All very snazzy and modern. But ever since I have had this car, I have felt this is a step backwards in the not unimportant question of road safety.

Yes, I can send a text message from my CarPlay system (which may be an advance), but this requires diverting my gaze from the road for a second or two to look at my touch screen. How can this be considered safe? Certain functions on the car necessitate even greater attention, sometimes a menu of options from which you must make a selection.

Changing radio stations used to be a simple question of pressing the right button, which we have learned to do instinctively, and without staring at the button, ever since the days of Marconi. With a touchscreen operating system, I now have to look leftwards at a screen rather than straight ahead at the road to switch stations when the theme tune of The Archers strikes up.

If using a mobile phone while driving is dangerous enough to get you six points on your licence, why should we consider a motorist diverting their attention from the road ahead to jab at a screen to be so safe that 97 per cent of new cars now feature touchscreens?

Even I have dismissed my criticisms as that of an old fart who finds a lot of aspects of the modern world annoying. But this morning I learned that I am not alone. A series of tests on 10 different in-car touchscreen systems by the magazine Auto Express has revealed that, in some cases, commands take 22 seconds to complete.

“As touchscreens become more complex,” said the magazine, “they are increasingly distracting. Glitches are also common, with screens occasionally freezing or failing to respond promptly, causing drivers to look away from the road longer than necessary.” Its conclusion is damning. “If smartphones are dangerous distractions, aren’t touchscreens even more so?”

So why are they now a standard feature of car design? “It all boils down to cost,” said Auto Express. “By combining myriad manual controls into a single digital system perched atop your dashboard, they reduce time and money spent on design, development, manufacture and assembly, making significant savings [for car makers] across the board.”

And there we have it. Another piece of tech that benefits the producer rather than the user. So take my advice. Keep your eyes on the road ahead.