Drivers could be forced to 'ditch' cars which have touchscreens

Drivers have been warned that cars with touchscreens could be phased out as 89 per cent of drivers prefer physical buttons. A whopping nine out of 10 UK drivers would rather have traditional buttons and switches than touchscreen controls in their cars.

Research shows that nearly two-thirds (60 per cent) of drivers would think twice about buying a car that didn't have old-fashioned buttons and switches.

Claire Evans, who works at What Car? said: "The key to providing the easiest-to-use, least distracting infotainment and air-con systems is to offer drivers plenty of control options. The very best systems, like BMW's iDrive, Renault's OpenR and Volvo's Google Built-in, give drivers lots of ways to access frequently used functions."

"On the other hand, the touchscreen operation of infotainment systems can be really distracting if they are slow to respond or hide frequently used functions in sub- menus that are fiddly and time-consuming to navigate.", reports Birmingham Live.

Matthew Avery, who is the director of strategic development at Euro NCAP, said the overuse of touchscreens is a problem for the whole industry.

"Almost every car maker is moving key controls onto central touchscreens, making drivers take their eyes off the road and increasing the risk of crashes caused by distraction."

According to the most recent data from the Department for Transport, driver impairment was a factor in 12,246 road traffic accidents last year.

Distraction was a contributing factor in 17 per cent of all road accidents in 2022, up from 13 per cent in 2013. Matthew Avery, director of strategic development at Euro NCAP, told The Times earlier this month: "The overuse of touchscreens is an industry-wide problem, with almost every vehicle-maker moving key controls onto central touchscreens, obliging drivers to take their eyes off the road and raising the risk of distraction crashes."

"New Euro NCAP tests due in 2026 will encourage manufacturers to use separate, physical controls for basic functions in an intuitive manner, limiting eyes-off-road time and therefore promoting safer driving."