Another Major Safety Authority Targets Distracting Car Touchscreens originally appeared on Autoblog.
Those prized five-star safety ratings will be harder to achieve
Complaints about distracting, screen-heavy car interiors keep piling up, but manufacturers are still turning a blind eye to them. Even Mazda, a company that prioritized physical vehicle controls over touchscreens for longer than most, has made the switch to a giant touchscreen in the all-new CX-5.
However, automakers may not have free rein to eliminate buttons for much longer if prominent safety regulators have anything to do with it. The European New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP) already announced that its five-star rating will require physical controls for key functions as of next year, and now the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) has come out and said it will be implementing a similar scoring system soon.
Carmakers With Physical Buttons And Stalks Will Be Rewarded
Carla Hoorweg, ANCAP’s CEO, told Drive that massive touchscreens with complicated menu structures will negatively impact automakers’ safety scores.
“From next year, the ANCAP safety rating system will encourage manufacturers to provide dedicated physical controls of a fixed section of the display for primary driving functions,” said Hoorweg. She further went on to say buttons or stalks for functions like hazard lights, windshield wipers, headlights, and the horn will be rewarded.
“Locating key vehicle controls on – or buried within – a touchscreen can add complexity and distraction while driving. If key functions are housed in a touchscreen, they must be large enough and positioned at the first level of screen depth – not hidden in submenus,” emphasized Hoorweg.
This key driving control area will be worth five points in 2026’s safety tests in the region.
Touchscreens Aren’t All Bad, But Must Be Used More Intelligently
Crucially, ANCAP isn’t calling for touchscreens to be entirely replaced by physical controls or buttons, and few consumers are asking for this, either. Instead, the hope is that manufacturers will stop burying key functions in a touchscreen sub-menus. Where important controls are embedded in the touchscreen, they should be quickly accessible and operable via icons that are large enough.
While Tesla is famous for popularizing touchscreen controls and eliminating even indicator stalks, the EV maker is no longer alone. Take Volvo, for instance. In the EX30, switching the headlights on (if they’re not set to auto) or adjusting the rearview mirrors will require multiple taps on the touchscreen and steering wheel. In no way is this easier than relying on muscle memory to adjust a knob or switch, while keeping your eyes on the road.
Will America’s Major Safety Body Be Late To The Party Again?
Now that both Europe and Australia’s major safety bodies are taking steps to address distracting driver interfaces, will America do the same? We're not so sure.
Back in June, the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) came under fire from automakers like Toyota and Volkswagen for its outdated safety regulations, according to a trade group representing several automakers. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) expressed similar sentiments, saying the NHTSA “requires stronger leadership" and “a sense of urgency”.
The U.S. has lagged behind other countries in adopting the latest safety testing and technologies, such as the latest headlight innovations from Audi and Mercedes-Benz. We fear that this antiquated approach will spill over into the area of distracted driving, whereby other regions begin regulating driver interfaces long before the NHTSA does here.
According to the NHTSA’s own data, over 324,000 people were injured in collisions involving distracted drivers in 2023. It’s time that the focus goes far beyond using a mobile phone while driving and evolves to include driver interfaces.
Another Major Safety Authority Targets Distracting Car Touchscreens first appeared on Autoblog on Aug 14, 2025
This story was originally reported by Autoblog on Aug 14, 2025, where it first appeared.
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