Many new cars are now coming with touchscreen controls for infotainment systems

While touchscreens are good for most purposes, are they a good idea for in-dash infotainment systems?

With the older systems, a radio channel could be selected using pre-set buttons, or by twirling a knob – easily done by “feel”, without taking eyes off the road.

But with touchscreens this cannot be done without taking eyes of the road, as the touch buttons, being small, take time to be located

Touch screens, when the car is stationary, offer multiple advantages –  browsing,  navigating maps, zooming, shopping, and many others. A touchscreen is also a must to use all the data in a connected car.

But while in motion, touchscreens are best used along with physical buttons, from a safety perspective. We wonder whether there is any data on safety in cars with touchscreens ?