August 21, 2022 – Swedish automotive magazine Vi Bilägare recently proved that physical buttons are safer than touchscreens by simply seeing how long it takes to do simple, everyday actions.
Vi Bilägare tested a dozen vehicles — primarily new but also one 2005 Volvo — to see how long it took to perform a series of four tasks. The drivers were timed as they performed each task while driving the respective vehicle at 68 miles per hour. It took 10 seconds in the old car and up to 45 in one of the new models.
Touchscreens and endless pages of menus cause, in a sense, distracted driving. Vi Bilägare points out that it’s not just the lack of buttons that can be a problem. The way an infotainment system is designed plays a huge role, too.
