In a new test, the German sister organization of NAF, ADAC, tested the use of touch screens in new cars. The report concludes that screen use “represents a major insurance risk”. The test was carried out in collaboration with the User Experience Lab (UX-Lab) at the University of Augsburg, which was responsible for eye tracking during normal driver tasks such as adjusting the air conditioning or the radio. The industry magazine Motor writes that the Tesla Model 3 performed the worst of the cars and only “barely avoided a crash” (Tesla has not responded to news’s inquiry). This was shown in the test In the test, safety-related vehicle functions, such as operating the headlights, were given the greatest weighting. Operation of the air conditioning and infotainment system made up the other parameters. Mazda 3 and BMW 1 series top the results list, among other things because they have a separate climate control unit. In third and fourth place came the VW Golf and Dacia Duster, both of which have an infotainment system that is controlled via the touch screen, while the security-related functions are activated with physical buttons. The Mercedes A-Class came fifth. Finally came the Tesla Model 3, with the rationale that “almost all functions, including those relevant to safety, are only activated via the touch screen”. Source: motor.no and newsrnd The test is being received as a wake-up call among European car organisations, which will now discuss whether there should be standardized requirements for the design and placement of functions. – The test shows that car manufacturers have a way to go in ensuring that important functions are easily accessible to drivers. We see that there are big differences here. In the cars that came out the worst, the risk of you taking your attention away from the road was great, says Ingunn Lauritzen Handagard in NAF. She adds: – Setting the air conditioning, finding the emergency flashers and operating the windscreen wipers are examples of functions that should be intuitive, and it is up to the car manufacturers to make this as easy as possible for the driver. – The test shows that car manufacturers have a way to go, says Ingunn Lauritzen Handagard in NAF. Photo: NAF – Driving in practice blind for 60 meters Mikkel Friis of the Road Traffic Information Council (OFV) calls the screens “a challenge that the car manufacturers must solve in collaboration with those who work with traffic safety”. What makes him hopeful is the new control system that allows the driver to speak or gesture to the car. – Here we see that steps have been taken in the right direction. The German test confirms the findings of a Swedish experiment, which shows that people spend much longer navigating on the screen than they do on traditional knobs and menu wheels. – Screens make new demands on you as a driver Ingunn Lauritzen Handagard, NAF – The fact that more and more functions are being moved to screens makes new demands on you as a driver. Our recommendation is that you make important settings before you start driving, to avoid taking your attention away from the road. Then you can rather drive to the side if you have to set up navigation or the like later. The traffic rules are clear that you must pay attention to the road when you drive. Therefore, you must familiarize yourself with where you can find the functions you may need along the way. You should simply be a little critical of your own abilities and not overestimate how well you are able to follow along on the road if you have to use several keystrokes to find the settings. – It is important that functions are easily and intuitively accessible to drivers. If you as a driver have to look away for three seconds at 80 km/h, in practice you are driving blind for 60 metres, says Kari Vassbotn in Trygg Trafikk. Trygg Trafikk has previously advocated a ban on all presses that cannot be operated through a multifunction steering wheel. In June, the Swedish Road Administration called in a crisis meeting after what has been referred to as a Norwegian “summer of accidents”. Norway has had a marked decrease in traffic fatalities over the past 20 years, but so far this year 70 people have lost their lives on Norwegian roads. There are more than twice as many as in the first half of 2021. No “in-depth analyses” of the fatal accidents On Monday, Frank Sve (Frp) stated in the Transport Committee at the Storting that the agreement on “motorway slimming” should be reconsidered in light of all the fatal accidents. In response to the charges, Transport Minister Jon Ivar Nygård (Ap) explained that it was still too early to say why there had been so “an alarmingly high number of fatal accidents”. – I would like to emphasize that we do not yet have in-depth analyzes of the fatal accidents in 2022, he said. Deputy head of the Nature Conservation Association, Pernille Hansen, believes that the FRP uses the accident statistics as a crowbar “to push its own agenda of a four-lane motorway”. – Most of the fatal accidents have occurred on stretches with little traffic, where even oversized road standards from the FRP’s time in government would not have provided a four-lane road. If the FRP saw the zero vision as highly as they say, they should instead work for a reduced speed. (See fact box for response from FRP.) Frank Sve (FRP) answers – The debate is not about two-lane roads with low speed, but about the fact that SV and the government are considering building fewer four-lane motorways, even where the traffic figures are far above the limit for this. – Then it is the case that the Nature Conservancy knows very well that road conditions and traffic volume are essential factors in accidents. Several two-lane roads with high speeds are and will become traffic traps, and there are many examples of this. – Figures from the Norwegian Road Administration show that 2 out of 46 fatal accidents are on motorways, so there is little doubt that the safest vegan roads are four-lane and three-lane roads. Good safe roads, with four and three lanes where there is a traffic basis for this, are both safe for traffic and good for motorists and business. – I would like to emphasize that we still do not have in-depth analyzes of the fatal accidents in 2022, says Transport Minister Jon Ivar Nygård (Ap). Photo: Rune Fredriksen / news – Several disturbing elements in the car A report from the Norwegian Road Administration (2019) shows that the number of accidents increases by 3.8 per cent when the speed limit is changed from 100 km/h to 110 km/h. This summer, the Swedish Road Administration and Nye Veg have proposed new road standards which entail narrower motorways and a higher traffic threshold for when the state can and must build a four-lane road. The proposal is now on the table of the Minister for Transport. In addition to speed, a possible “covid effect” and road standards, the new and larger touchscreens have been proposed to explain the increase in fatal accidents. Cecilie Bryner in Trygg Trafikk says that they are working on a project to look more closely at how much the touch screens distract the driver. – We have a theory that there are several disturbing elements in the car, she says.
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New test sounds the alarm about touchscreens in cars – news Vestland
