A Monterey Herald reader points outs some serious shortcomings of touch displays in cars, which are intended to replace traditional buttons and dials. The newspaper’s automotive experts Tom and Ray Magliozzi agree. “I think they are unsafe and, moreover, just tacky,” the reader writes. “You have to take your eyes off the road to use them, plus at night you have this bright screen screwing with your night vision. What is your opinion of this trend?” Ray replies that “These touch screens, iDrives and Multi-Media Interfaces force you to take your eyes off the road. What kind of moronic engineering is that?” The Magliozzi duo say in recent months they’ve “taken carmakers to task for this very issue.” Tom writes that “automakers must figure that we’re easily impressed by lights and beeps and screens. And I guess some of us are. But using visual controls to operate basic, frequently used automotive functions is a dangerous step backward in auto safety.”
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