Oh they will when it starts to hurt sales and competitors with REAL controls start taking those sales away .
Mercedes shuns a return to physical buttons
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Not quite : it is unlawful to hold AND use an interactive device whilst 'driving' ; the wording means that both conditions have to be satisfied .
Therefore you can hold it as long as you aren't using it 'for any purpose' ,
and you can use it 'for any purpose' as long as you aren't holding it . This does not exclude touching the device , so as long as it is an a cradle , or merely lying on a surface , as long as you are not holding it , you CAN touch it .
The legislation is quite specific .
Automatic answering via a carkit . When connected to my Bury system my phone can be set to auto answer immediately , after a preset number of rings , or not to answer automatically , which is how mine is set since I rarely take or make calls whilst driving .
Nope - those third party sites are wrong .Sorry - sadly I'm right !
"You are not allowed to touch your phone for any reason. If you really need to handle your phone, stop in a safe place and turn the car’s engine off."
Source:-
The 2024 UK law on using a mobile phone when driving
Read up on the latest New phone laws while driving 2024 UK which close loopholes and impose harder-hitting penalties.www.parkers.co.uk
"Holding and using a phone or any other electronic device that can send or receive data while driving is illegal. That refers specifically to using the device with your hands, whether online, offline or flight mode. "
Source: Mobile phone use while driving – Laws and penalties in the UK
The only definitive guide is legislation , which says nothing about not touching the device when driving , this is what the court will refer to , not third party websites where people have misinterpreted the legislation .
Road Traffic Act 1988
An Act to consolidate certain enactments relating to road traffic with amendments to give effect to recommendations of the Law Commission and the Scottish Law Commission.
and a summary
Using a phone, sat nav or other device when driving
It’s illegal to hold a phone or a sat nav while driving - you'll get penalty points, a fine and can be banned from driving.
My Bury carkit has a small touch panel which can be used to accept or reject calls , accept voice commands such as 'dial home' or to increase/reduce volume during a call ; I have it affixed just left of the instrument cluster , with the phone cradle down in the passenger footwell , out of the way .
Far too many people affix phones to the windscreen - this is unlawful since it cannot be within the area swept by the windscreen wipers , and placing any device in that area is a reason for refusal of an MOT test certificate , yet I often see fools driving at night with phones on full daytime brightness and right in the middle of the windscreen , in front of their faces , which is utter stupidity .
You could not hold a device without touching it , but as long as you are not USING it for any purpose , then you CAN hold it .I think it's the way it's worded - you're not allowed to touch your device while holding it.
Using a phone, sat nav or other device when driving
It’s illegal to hold a phone or a sat nav while driving - you'll get penalty points, a fine and can be banned from driving.www.gov.uk
However , even though holding the device without using it is not specifically prohibited , doing so must not interfere with your control of the car , otherwise a charge of driving without due care and attention could be brought .
I would not have one of those cars with buttons all over the steering wheel ; the wheel is for steering the car , nothing else apart from on many having the horn readily available .
You can touch it for any purpose as long as you are not holding it .
No , that is not correct - there is no prohibition against holding the device as long as you are not using it for any purpose . The offence is to hold AND use , not either one or the other .
I think the breathalyser rule has ceased now - I'm sure I read it somewhere recently .
Unless you have a fully optioned 124 , you will never have a full row of rocker switches above the heater controls ; and the window and seat heater controls are easily found by touch .
W124s were designed by engineers who understood ergonomics - the buffoons of today don't , and Uhlenhaut would have fired them right out the door !
Good .Touch screens could have a limited life .
Car makers told to ditch distracting touchscreens
From 2026, crash testing body Euro NCAP will introduce rules that downgrade safety ratings of new vehicles that do not have easy-to-use buttons on the dashboard to control simple operations.www.thisismoney.co.uk
I knew I'd read that somewhere .
I wouldn't want any car included system ; I always fit my own high end audio system which has been in and out of numerous cars over the last 30 or so years . In fact I have three complete sets of components to kit out different cars .Here's the What Car? article:
Best car infotainment systems: tested and rated
We wouldn’t want to be without our infotainment systems, but they can be distracting on the move. We test 20 cars to see which is the best for keeping your eyes on the roadwww.whatcar.com
On the subject of driver distraction, the stat's indicate that it was a contributing factor in best part of one-third of collisions resulting in road deaths (up from less than a quarter in 2013):
On my Ponton , and all 1950s Mercedes , the horn ring doubled as the indicator control and was operated by turning it left or right , which could be done regardless of the position of hands or wheel . Things have gone so far backwards since that elegant design .
You can just see me cancelling the signal at the very end of this short video - yes the indicators were NOT self cancelling . I miss that car after having it for 38 years :-(
Oh , here's another feast of old Mercedes-Benz from my archives , again including my Ponton . This video is pretty long , and image quality isn't the best , but it is a visual feast of old cars .
MSG2004
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One of the reasons I've decided not to change my GLE for the newer one is lack of buttons
It's only time before MB caves in and put more buttons in
A sibling has a new S class. He keeps that car clean outside and inside and he hates the fingerprints on the touch screen.
When these car, so-called experts get the public to test their new designs, is the car travelling at 60mph on
a single track road in the rain and dark? The other thing that winds me up as I had a loan car with one of these is the
touch buttons on the steering that you don't physically press/roll but slide your thumb over, I kept on accidentally
using those as my hand/s rubbed against the button.
It's only time before MB caves in and put more buttons in
A sibling has a new S class. He keeps that car clean outside and inside and he hates the fingerprints on the touch screen.
When these car, so-called experts get the public to test their new designs, is the car travelling at 60mph on
a single track road in the rain and dark? The other thing that winds me up as I had a loan car with one of these is the
touch buttons on the steering that you don't physically press/roll but slide your thumb over, I kept on accidentally
using those as my hand/s rubbed against the button.
sidehustleveteran
Member
Terrible idea, I love the solid mechanical buttons and switches in my E430
MSG2004
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Me too
MB will follow the others like a Leeming as its only a matter of time. Speaking with younger members of my family, they too
dislike the almost 100% touchscreens. They've said what I've said "who do they test this stuff on and is the car static when they do these trials."
The bigger screens, you get finger marks on them and the screen looks like a bit of rubbish.
Euroccap will push motor manufacturers back to more buttons as they intend to incorporate in their safety ratings the ease of using these touch screens whilst driving.
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Being an advocate of the Devil for a moment, in 2005 young people told me that my mobile phone with a touchscreen and no keypad was pointless, and coincidentally was covered in finger marks.
That was because all the (then) young people knew was physical keys, calls and texts, and not what the future held. Young people are not really an effective barometer of technology.
PS A quick wipe with a screen wipe (from a sachet) or clean microfibre cloth with suitable screen cleaner is all it takes to remove finger wipes from a touchscreen. The work of a moment
ALFAitalia
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Tbh....just as far as cleaning is concerned, it's far easier to clean screens with a quick wipe than it ever will be to get the dust from off, and between, lots of little switches. Takes me ages with an artist brush to get the dust out of the tiny gaps between the switches and the dash when doing a deep clean. Still prefer physical switches though.