The automotive sector needs a serious restart. The growing complexity of features wears on drivers and can impact safety.
Naughty hatch
Several owners of a specific car model reached out to the service department of a German maker with a reported issue in the sunroof electronics. At a certain highway speed, the hatch would close, leaving only a narrow gap.
Owners mistook this behavior for a fault. In fact, it was a deliberate design choice that had been reprogrammed by the manufacturer to trigger at speed.
The idea behind closing the hatch as speed rises makes sense. It helps cut down wind noise at high velocity. Yet this case highlights a broader challenge in the automotive world: drivers are confronting an increasing load of technology in their vehicles.
What car owners don’t know
Only a small share of buyers understands which features are in their car, much less how they operate, according to research by a leading US analytics firm.
In one study, roughly 65% of consumers could not accurately explain what fully autonomous driving entails.
It distracts them from the road
Some car systems demand too much of the driver’s attention, says a major European supplier. In many modern high-tech cars, the traditional control buttons disappear into digital displays.
Even a simple task like turning on seat heating on a large central display can steal several seconds. Scrolling through digital menus and submenus to locate a function creates dangerous moments of distraction.
Equally risky is the constant stream of data from digital updates—the sheer volume of signals these systems emit can prompt flawed reactions while driving.
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The trend is expected to intensify as electric mobility expands over the next few years. Researchers believe manufacturers will be compelled to streamline interfaces and design more intuitive controls.
Notes: a growing emphasis on clarity and safety in vehicle interfaces is becoming central to future design strategies.
Photo credits: Depositphotos
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