The European car safety authority, Euro Ncap, has announced it will update its safety testing protocols to penalize vehicle manufacturers that overly rely on touchscreen controls, beginning in 2026. This significant shift aims to encourage the return of physical buttons and switches for essential driving functions, addressing growing concerns about driver distraction caused by complex infotainment systems.
Matthew Avery, a director at Euro NCAP, highlighted the pervasive nature of this issue, stating, “The overuse of touchscreens is an industry-wide problem.” He explained that the trend of integrating critical controls into central touchscreens forces drivers to divert their attention from the road, thereby increasing the risk of accidents. Euro NCAP’s new testing regime, set to be implemented in January 2026, directly tackles this by making physical controls a prerequisite for achieving top safety ratings.
Under these updated Euro NCAP guidelines, automakers must incorporate physical controls for several fundamental functions to secure the highest safety accolades. These essential functions include: direction indicators, hazard lights, the horn, windshield wipers, and the eCall SOS system, a feature designed for emergency situations. This move by Euro NCAP underscores the organization’s commitment to minimizing “eyes-off-road time,” a critical factor in preventing distraction-related collisions and promoting safer driving practices across the automotive industry.
The regulatory landscape within the European Union regarding driver interaction with vehicle controls, known as the Human Machine Interface (HMI), has been notably lenient. Despite the European Commission’s 2008 recommendation emphasizing that in-car systems should “enhance or at least not reduce road safety,” concrete actions against manufacturers for non-compliance have been absent. This lack of enforcement has allowed the proliferation of touchscreen-heavy interfaces, often at the expense of user-friendly physical controls.
Frank Mütze, a vehicle safety expert at the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), supports Euro NCAP’s proactive stance. He argues that the existing voluntary guidelines within the EU are ineffective, as “current touchscreens and infotainment systems are distracting and unsafe.” Mütze views Euro NCAP’s mandate for physical controls as a “welcome step in the right direction,” and further urges EU regulators to establish legally binding requirements for all vehicles to ensure consistent safety standards.
The increasing dominance of touchscreens in modern vehicles has been substantiated by research. A 2022 study by a Swedish motoring publication demonstrated that performing basic tasks on touchscreens took considerably longer compared to using traditional physical controls in older car models. Furthermore, research conducted by TRL in the UK in 2020 revealed that smartphone interfaces like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, accessible through car touchscreens, could impair driver reaction times to a degree comparable to driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. These findings, coupled with evidence indicating that native infotainment systems can be even more distracting, reinforce the necessity for Euro NCAP’s intervention and the broader call for safer, less distracting in-car technology.
