California Congressman Kevin Mullin is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He introduced the Driver Technology and Pedestrian Safety Act, which calls for a federal study on the impact of touchscreens on driver distraction.
“Given that 97 percent of new vehicles have these screens, we simply don’t know enough about what the impact is,” Mullin said.
After the hearing, Rep. Mullin sat down with Spotlight to discuss his concerns.
“Anytime you take your eyes off the road, that raises a safety consideration,” Mullin said. “I’m not suggesting that these screens be taken out of vehicles, but we need to do the study. We need to understand, like we have with mobile phone usage in vehicles, that distracted driving is real.”
National data shows 40,000 people are killed every year in traffic deaths.
Mullin says his proposed study, which would be conducted by the Department of Transportation and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, would help regulators to better understand whether touchscreens contribute to causing accidents.
“These touchscreens are a fact of life. Cars are very much computers on the road. We need to acknowledge it, and federal regulators need to be taking a closer look at it,” he said.
Touchscreens cheaper to make
The use of touchscreens in vehicles has grown exponentially over the past several years. Brooks says driven, in part, because they’re cheaper for manufacturers to make.
“Windshield wipers, safety features, climate control, stereo have been moved into those touchscreens, and now they’re able to save money on all those buttons and wires and everything by centralizing those functions in one location,” he said.
While many like the sleek, modern look of touchscreens, customer dissatisfaction with their function is growing. The latest JD Power survey shows vehicle touchscreens top the list of complaints for new car owners.
“It’s not just grandmothers who don’t like technology. It’s people who don’t want to spend 10 to 15 seconds looking for a common feature that they were able to access with the button just a few years before,” Brooks, from the Center for Auto Safety, said.
Even Congressman Mullin said he’s been frustrated by the touchscreen in his car.
“My own behavior, I know that when I was working with knobs, instead of a touchscreen, I knew where those knobs were, and I was able to keep my eyes on the road, Mullin said.
Consumer backlash is leading some automakers to pump the brakes on touchscreens and start bringing back at least some buttons. Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Honda, and Volkswagen are among those that have started reintroducing a mix of physical buttons and knobs.
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