One of the reasons I haven't bought a new car is because I pretty actively don't want a touch screen in my car. It just screams unsafe to me, and all the research I've seen coming out recently agrees with me.
I don't want to have to stare at my console just to change the radio channel, to turn up the A/C, etc. It's insane to me that people think this is a pro instead of a negative.
> I don't want to have to stare at my console just to change the radio channel, to turn up the A/C, ETC.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Et_cetera
> et cetera is a Latin expression that is used in English to mean "and other similar things", or "and so forth".
I'm sure this will come across as harsh as it's meant to be, but you went after a strawman so fair is fair.
My actual point is that if you're doing ANYTHING while driving that involves staring at a touch screen to ensure you touch the correct part of it, often multiple times as you hunt through menu's, then it's less safe than not having the touch screen.
This point is not invalidated because you can change the volume via your steering wheel.
I use Waze all the time as it shows speed limit and warns of road blocks by cops (which are notoriously corrupt where I live).
But for a lot of cars in my experience, the screen is only used for infotainment in which case I would love to have Waze to show on it. I always plot my route before starting to drive so I have no need to touch the screen during the trip.
Fortunately push-to-talk and volume control buttons on steering wheels is very common these days, so I don't need to touch my screen to skip tracks (or switch between pre-programmed radio stations), change volume or initiate a hands free phone call. Siri activated by the push-to-talk button is also good enough to use to message back to people you're driving and will get back to them later, or tell your spouse you're on way to them now.
It's absolutely less safe to look down and away from the windshield in order to navigate.
It's a fine balance between restricting the view slightly with a smartphone holder vs keeping both driving and navigation in the same approximate line of sight.
But it's better than looking down and to my right to navigate (or change radio stations, or adjust climate control, etc etc)
Controls for everything else like AC, volume, switching radio station/track is not needing to be done with the screen, it's all through classic buttons/knobs or steering wheel controls. I would not buy a car which required the screen to be touched for these things.
I don't see anything objectively more or less dangerous about operating a radio in this way, the only real difference is that instead of your radio frequency being visible through 7 segment displays, it's now on a high resolution display.
In my current vehicle I can change stations without taking my eyes off the road, I don't feel as if I'd be able to do that if it were on a touch screen due to the lack of tactile feedback.
Also, I've rented a few vehicles and I've never seen one that didn't have things like A/C on the touch screen, which is part of why I've formed the opinion I have. OTOH, what I've rented are minivans, where A/C is a bit more complex since it will often have a "driver/passenger" dichotomy as well as a "front/back"dichotomy.
I just don't want to be interacting with it in a touch screen way while driving.