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Comment by jonathanlydall | Hacker News Reader

I agree that controls for things like AC on a touch screen are a terrible idea.

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.

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I still don't want Waze on my car's screen because it sits low in the dash. I intentionally mount my phone such that it's high up and I can still see the road while looking at my phone.

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)

If interaction with the big screen were purely passive then I wouldn't have an issue with it. The problem is that it's a touch screen and is, by definition, not passive.

For the way I use the screens, to all intents and purposes they are passive while I'm driving. I don't have a need (or want) to touch them at all while the car is moving. I set up my map route before I pull off, often on the phone before I get in the car, then that's it for the rest of the trip.

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.

> I don't see anything objectively more or less dangerous about operating a radio in this way

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.

There are brands that have not lost their mind. Many new cars do keep physical controls / buttons / dials for A/C and other stuff out of the touch screen. If you want to dial radio when having navigation on the screen, it might be a different story, though.

Not to be a shill but you should look into Mazdas. They feel similar to you and have removed touch screens, and the since you don't need to reach it they then moved the infotainment screen further back and higher up so you don't have to take your eyes off the road as much.

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