Dumbphones? Try dumbcars! Experts call for cars to go 'back to basics'

"Touchscreen 'infotainment' dashboards have also come into the firing line, as growing evidence shows they are a dangerous distraction. Unlike a physical switch or knob, a screen creates a distraction by forcing drivers to take their eyes off the road. Professor Milad Haghani, a car safety expert at the University of Melbourne, told the Daily Mail: 'They require visual attention and demand glance durations often longer than safe thresholds. 'That long glance duration can be deadly.'"

"The big difference from a traditional car door is that these use an electronic button to open the car from the inside, rather than a mechanical lever. However, if a crash affects the car's wiring, this can mean that the door handle cannot be opened from the inside or outside. Most cars with hidden locks have a backup mechanical switch somewhere inside the car, but these are often extremely difficult to find."

Most new cars include high-tech features such as touchscreen infotainment systems and hidden pop-out door handles. Touchscreen infotainment systems require visual attention and demand glance durations often longer than safe thresholds, producing dangerous driver distraction. Hidden or pop-up door handles sit flush with the body and use electronic buttons to open from the inside instead of mechanical levers. Crash-damaged wiring can render these electronic handles inoperable, and backup mechanical releases are frequently hard to find, exemplified by mechanisms that require removing panels and tugging hidden cords. Some jurisdictions have banned pop-out handles amid fears of trapping occupants, prompting calls to simplify car design to improve safety.

Read at Mail Online