Physical buttons in cars should be brought back, breakdown experts say
Breakdown provider Start Rescue is backing car makers that continue to use physical buttons on the dashboard rather than giant screens. “Scrolling through on-screen menus, sometimes to perform the simplest functions, concerns many safety experts who believe this may be distracting drivers from the road ahead,” it said.
Euro NCAP, the independent vehicle safety rating organisation, will be introducing stricter testing protocols for 2026, mandating physical buttons and controls for key functions to reduce eyes-off-road time and promote safer driving. “In fact, the issue has grown to the extent that drivers are even calling their breakdown provider for support after touchscreen problems bring their journey to a premature halt,” Start Rescue said. The breakdown provider is seeing an increase in touchscreen related call-outs.
“Our UK support centre is receiving calls from customers facing touchscreen issues. We’re receiving reports of screens ‘freezing’ and individual operations not responding with customers thinking there’s a much wider problem” says Lee Puffett, Managing Director of Start Rescue. “We’re backing manufacturers re-introducing more buttons, switches and rotary controls. It’s welcome from a safety perspective with key equipment like screen demisting always being available with a quick click and not being wholly reliant on a touchscreen.”
It is also receiving customer enquiries concerning ‘juddering’ steering wheels which are activated by lane assist systems or driver drowsiness and awareness alerts.
“The good news is that manufacturers are responding to customer needs,” Stuart Masson, Editorial Director of The Car Expert, one of the UK’s leading independent authorities on new and used cars and motoring matters adds. “Important new cars we’ve evaluated from several major brands now offer more well-positioned buttons and that’s a direct result of customer feedback.”
“Motorists are also being given more choice over the alerts they receive from the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems featured in all new vehicles, some of which can be distracting like a suddenly, juddering steering wheel. The option to store your personal preferences is also a step in the right direction.”
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