Part of the problem is the length of time your eyes need to be refocussed on to the screen, both to ensure your finger touches the right place on the screen and to ensure that the screen has correctly responded to that touch. The time that your eyes are off the road is a lot longer than is the case for a physical control, where tactile feedback from your fingertips provides assurance that the control has operated as intended.
In cockpit HMI design this was something learned decades ago, with the feel of controls being made different so that many could be both found and operated by touch alone. One helicopter procurement I managed included large LCD displays both for normal flight instruments and a range of sensor and weapons data presentations and actions. Touch screens were initially suggested, but the challenges in safely operating these that were found by trained crew during simulation sessions ruled them out. Driving is potentially more hazardous than flying, in terms of the need to stay eyes-out. Much of the time when flying, a several second sweep around the instrument panel presents little or no hazard. Just a couple of seconds eyes-in when driving could well be lethal.
In my view, car driving control design needs to be undertaken to a higher standard in terms of the HMI than for flight controls in an aircraft, because of the risk posed by spending too much time eyes-in. Also, the effect of the design on the performance of those that wear glasses needs to be more carefully considered. Many people need glasses for short sight correction, and as they age will inevitably also need correction for age-related long sight.
Varifocal glasses are a very good solution, that work well for instruments and controls that are in the central line of sight, but they work far less well for peripheral vision. The clear focus zone with the eyes looking at an angle to the side and down is much smaller than it is when looking ahead and down. The result of this is that focus accommodation time increases, it takes longer for the eyes to resolve a clear image when looking sideways through varifocals than it does when looking straight ahead. This adds to the time that the driver has to be eyes-in to operate a touch screen control that's to the side, adding to the problem
Before this comment attracts yet another insulting response, I should add that my corrected vision is absolutely fine for both driving and flying, and that I still fly regularly and maintain my licence. In fact the last type I flew, shortly before the lockdown tiers put a stop to it, had elliptical wings and 1600hp of supercharged V12 power provided by a Rolls Royce Merlin 66, so not the sort of thing someone with dodgy eyesight, or poor hand-eye coordination might fly.