Touchscreen controls pose ‘serious risk’, warns FleetCheck
Fleets have been encouraged to remove cars that only offer touchscreen controls from their lists.
FleetCheck has warned that because touchscreens require drivers to take their eyes off the road, they can be more unsafe than other systems.
Peter Golding, FleetCheck CEO, said: “There is now overwhelming evidence that touchscreen controls represent a serious risk, with a whole slew of credible studies showing they are distracting for drivers and interrupt concentration to an unacceptable degree.
“We’re probably already seeing a general move by manufacturers away from placing everything on touchscreens towards a more hybrid approach where at least major controls such as heating have physical knobs and buttons, something being encouraged by Euro NCAP, among others.
“However, there remain some popular company cars commonly included on choice lists that are touchscreen-only and it is probably time for fleets to consider whether this is the right thing to do? These vehicles are inherently risky and there are plenty of alternatives that provide safer access to vehicle controls.”
He continued:
“The car has potentially become quite stressful by design, which is clearly not desirable. It does perhaps feel as though we need to spend more time considering the human element.”
