THE touch screens are increasingly crowding out the buttons and controls that are important and useful for driving. A new study has just looked at reaction times when using digital boards, and the results are frightening.

Modern cars have a legion of touchscreens

We can no longer do without it in modern cars. THE touch screens are almost systematically replacing the classic controls on the dashboard of new cars. They always increase with each restyling or model release. And each time they cover more functions, so that now there are many cars that completely or almost do without buttons on the dashboard.

But is it a good idea? Several studies show that haptic feedback leads to fewer errors. Researchers specializing in Germany, in particular, have shown that using a touch screen is not as simple as using a button while driving. Deprived of tactile feedback, the driver cannot be sure that he has “pressed” the desired function.

Reaction time is extended thanks to touch screens

Therefore, the results of the study, recently presented by the British research institute for road safety TRL, are not surprising.

Using a touch screen in a car significantly increases reaction time. And this is 57 percent. By comparison, reaction time under the influence of cannabis is 21 percent. Cell phone use increases reaction time by 46%, making touchscreen use more dangerous than drug or cell phone use while driving in terms of reaction time.

So, mirroring services like Android Auto or Apple Carplay won’t help much, according to the study. Of course, they allow you to leave your mobile phone while traveling and use it via the car’s touch screen. However, the researchers came to a terrible result: choosing a song sometimes took more than 20 seconds and strongly affected the reaction time of drivers.

Using touch screens in the car while driving

Touchscreens in cars are subject to § 23 Road Traffic Regulations (StVO). Paragraph 1a states: “A person driving a vehicle may only use an electronic device that is used or intended to be used for communication, information or organization, unless the device is picked up or held for that purpose, but only by voice command and reading functions are used or, for the control and operation of the device, only a brief movement of the gaze towards the device, adapted to road conditions, traffic, visibility and weather conditions, occurs or is necessary, while looking away from traffic”.

The duration of “adapted attention” is not specified. In case of doubt, the courts will have to consider the interpretation of this clause, as no adaptation is currently envisaged.