Crash test ratings could change by 2026 by penalizing the absence of buttons. Tesla, as well as other manufacturers, could suffer.
Return the buttons and commodos! Tesla models currently benefit from the best scores awarded by the Euro NCAP organization for the safety of their cars. However, this could change with the new criteria likely to apply during crash tests carried out from 2026. The absence of certain physical controls, which have now been integrated into the central screen, poses an obvious safety problem . If manufacturers want to maintain their 5-star crash test score, they will have to adapt to the new rules imposed by Euro NCAP in the coming years. Otherwise, they will have to do without this precious label which reassures buyers.
The director of strategic development at Euro NCAP, Matthew Avery, indicated in an interview with the BBC on March 4, 2024 that the organization was currently working with manufacturers to bring certain physical controls back into vehicles.
Buttons or commodos for commands deemed vital
Without making an exhaustive and definitive list, Euro NCAP wants the indicators, lighting, windshield wipers, horn and emergency buttons (e-call) to remain physically accessible for drivers.
Euro NCAP wants to discourage manufacturers from giving in to the temptation to remove physical controls, replacing them with computer controls to be carried out from the vehicle’s central screen. So, before too many manufacturers adopt the Tesla trend, the organization hopes to stop them with its threat of downgrading the safety scores of their future models.
Tesla is of course the manufacturer most directly targeted by these new criteria. The American manufacturer is the one that has gone furthest on the issue, going so far as to remove all the controls on its new generation Model 3:
- Turn signal switch replaced by buttons on the steering wheel
- Speed selector replaced by a control on the screen (existing emergency control by physical buttons on the ceiling)
- Lighting management to be managed from the central screen
- Windshield wiper switch replaced by a central screen menu (even if a shortcut exists on the steering wheel)
A choice that still raises many questions, including ours, regarding driving safety.
Too much distraction from screens
What mainly poses a problem is not so much the removal of a switch, but the fact of transferring these commands to the central screen. In the interview taken up by ARS Technica, the Euro NCAP manager indicated that “ Touchscreen overuse is an industry-wide problem, with almost all automakers having moved key controls to central touchscreens, forcing drivers to take their eyes off the road and increasing the risk of damage. accidents due to distraction “.
It is true that beyond vital controls, many elements have gone from physical buttons to controls, sometimes placed in submenus that are complex to find or use in the infotainment system. This forces a certain loss of vigilance on the road while making adjustments, especially when changing vehicles. The solution of car manufacturers is to make these commands accessible from the car’s voice commands. However, this will certainly not satisfy the security body which is campaigning for the return of physical controls.
Will Europe force car manufacturers to reverse course on the issue of the disappearance of buttons? Nothing is less sure. Euro NCAP is an independent body which is not obligatory in the marketing of new vehicles, neither in Europe nor elsewhere in the world. It is just an advantage for manufacturers who want to communicate the good results of their car in this test to reassure customers. Everyone can ignore the crash tests of the organization which continues to evolve its rules at a breakneck pace.
The disappearance of physical controls is a real debate with the emergence of new vehicles from Asia, particularly electric. This is one of the trends to follow through our newsletter dedicated to electric mobility: Watt Else.
Subscribe to Numerama on Google News so you don’t miss any news!