Car manufacturers should be moving back to using physical buttons instead of more touchscreen functions, an expert has said.
Consumer vehicle safety rating organisation the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) has announced changes from next year to require physical controls for key functions.
It comes amid concerns around the overuse of touchscreens meaning drivers have to take their eyes off the road.
New Euro NCAP tests from 2026 will encourage manufacturers to use separate, physical controls for basic functions.
Under the new rating scheme manufacturers won't be able to achieve the highest safety ratings if they don’t provide physical switches for certain functions including indicators, hazard lights and sounding the horn.
Completecar.ie Editor Shane O'Donoghue told Lunchtime Live buttons should be brought back.
"We review new cars every week and in all reviews you'll see reference to this," he said.
"We regularly say [that] touchscreen is fine - it's sharp, it's fast - but why are there climate controls on it? Why do you have to press a button or go through menus to find the temperature?
"I think the car manufacturers are listening because [on] some of the more recent models there's been a return to using physical buttons for the heating and ventilation, if nothing else.
"There's definitely a big proliferation of use of the touchscreen - it's really bad, it's very distracting".
Mr O’Donoghue said touch screen means manufactures can save money as it makes it "very easy to add features or take away features".
"I would also suggest that the marketing divisions are probably saying that people want this technology and they think it looks good".
A touchscreen display on a car dashboard, 19-1-17. Image: VDWI Automotive / AlamyCaller Mary told the show anything that distracts you should be limited.
"I was one day just using my radio in slow traffic and I was coming on to a roundabout and by the time I found the number on the touchscreen... I actually ended up in the middle of the roundabout," she said.
"That was just scrolling [and] looking for a number.
"They're bringing back the buttons in the cars but it is more expensive [than touchscreens].
"Those screens you have to scroll even if you're turning down the heating.
"I don't know how many drivers I see a day - one day I counted six in 30 seconds - looking down into their laps at phones.
"It is a problem but I don't know how we put the genie back in the bottle," she added.
New figures from the European Commission show Irish road deaths from 2019 to 2023 increased by 31% - the highest rate in the bloc.
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