Letters to the Editor: Are modern cars too complex and screen-heavy to be driven safely?

To the editor: Bring buttons back to cars? Why? (“Bring buttons and dials back to new cars. Touch screens distract drivers,” editorial, March 28)

Touch-screens can be distracting, but they are just a temporary device. When was the last time you rolled down your window and stuck out your arm straight out to signal a left turn?

Times are changing, so why go backward?

Today, artificial-intelligence software can drive cars much more safely than humans.

In the future, when robotaxis and other autonomous vehicles are accepted things, we won’t need a steering wheel or brake pedals, much less a touch-screen.

Sit back, relax, read, watch your smartphone or sleep, and let the computer drive you safely to your destination.

Robert Samuelson, Marina del Rey

..

To the editor: Thanks to the editorial board for its piece about all the new screens in cars being a deadly distraction while driving. I was just about to write such a letter to the head of Subaru and copy it to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

I purchased a new Subaru Crosstrek last month, and the thought at the top of my mind since has been, “No wonder there are so many pedestrian deaths.”

No controls are intuitive. The driver must take their eyes off the road to make any minor changes. My father, a former Navy fighter pilot who taught me to drive, constantly impressed upon me, “Never take your eyes off the road!” The screens are not a better way to drive or control one’s car in any way, shape or form.

As for all the new “safety” elements programmed into the car that require a computer science degree to disarm, stop already. These are more dangerous than helpful. I can’t responsibly drive the car.

This is a nice, peppy car that handles well (when I am allowed to handle it), and it would be even better with a stick shift. But that is me, and I like to drive with my eyes on the road.

Ruth Peebles, Los Angeles

..

To the editor: When driving a Tesla, you do not have to use the touch-screen to control the wipers, headlights or air conditioner. Pressing the right-hand button on the steering wheel gives you access to voice command, which allows you to control those features without taking your eyes off the road.

In addition, you can set the temperature and fan, heat your seat, recirculate air, lock your doors and more. You can even say, “I’m cold,” or, “Make it cooler.”

Also, your statement about switching gears is disingenuous. When shifting from drive to park or reverse, the car is not moving. You are literally not driving.

Michael Pearman, Nipomo, Calif.

..

To the editor: Hybrid cars also have distracting screens.

The “multi-information display” and separate “multi-media system screen” on my 2023 Toyota Sienna hybrid minivan each have menus upon menus of choices to make for vehicle operation.

I never operate these while driving because they use confusing acronyms and deep-menu and sub-menu selections that require extended time and effort to understand. Using them requires taking your eyes away from the road, possibly leading to dangerous and deadly results.

Sometimes I long for my 1962 “three-on-the-tree” Ford Falcon straight-six engine, where the choke push/pull button was about as complex as it got.

Donald Bentley, La Puente