Touching touch screens while driving no longer allowed in Germany, even for adjusting wiper speed!!

[Wilgenbosch]

Hi all

I just read this rather concerning article. In Germany a model 3 driver got a fine and lost temporary his license because he touched the screen for adjusting the wiper speed during heavy rain. Unfortunately he caused an accident by doing that.

This falls under the law that you cannot touch your screen or electronic device while driving.

So even for safety precautions it is not allowed. This almost basically means they should forbid the model 3 since you cannot use it without.

Personally I should think this is impossible to be valid because the car is approved selling and registring in Germany in the conditions the car is made. Since you cannot use the car without the screen this could not be right.

Quite concerning development...

Hereby the link Urteil nach Tesla-Unfall: Gericht verbietet Touchscreen-Bedienung

 

[cucubits]

I would love to see more physical buttons return to the current cars but that's besides the point here.

If this is true, Tesla is not the only one in trouble, I've seen a lot of new cars have more and more controls on touchscreens only. I can't understand why everything has to be turned into a big phone. What's wrong with real switches? After driving a car with actual switches for a while, it's extremely easy to operate them properly without looking, just using muscle memory. This can never happen on a touch screen.

 

[jjrandorin]

Hi all

I just read this rather concerning article. In Germany a model 3 driver got a fine and lost temporary his license because he touched the screen for adjusting the wiper speed during heavy rain. Unfortunately he caused an accident by doing that.

This falls under the law that you cannot touch your screen or electronic device while driving.

So even for safety precautions it is not allowed. This almost basically means they should forbid the model 3 since you cannot use it without.

Personally I should think this is impossible to be valid because the car is approved selling and registring in Germany in the conditions the car is made. Since you cannot use the car without the screen this could not be right.

Quite concerning development...

Hereby the link Urteil nach Tesla-Unfall: Gericht verbietet Touchscreen-Bedienung

Then I guess its great that you can change the wiper speed (and turn them on and off) by using voice commands, then.

 

[smatthew]

Then I guess its great that you can change the wiper speed (and turn them on and off) by using voice commands, then.

Or just leave them on automatic and press the button on the end of the left stick if you need an extra wipe!

Let's be honest. You're sensationalizing this news story like everyone else. He lost his license because he crashed his car AND admitted to being distracted at the time of the accident. There is no law saying you cannot touch your screen or electronic device while driving. Every car manufacturer makes touch screen vehicles now, and they are legal for sale.

If I crashed my Tesla in California, and admitted that I was messing around with the screen when I crashed, I would be charged with "failure to pay full attention to the road." California's rules state that you can poke at screens while driving, but you cannot hold the device (I believe that's correct). But, it is my responsibility to drive in a safe manner. If I crash while operating an accessory, I have failed to pay full (or full enough to not crash) attention to the road.

And messing around with something on a screen while driving in a heavy rain is almost always a recipe for disaster. In that situation, a prudent driver would either engage AutoPilot (which would have automatically engaged the wipers), or pulled over before using the screen.

 

[Candleflame]

its the same everywhere in the world. you are allowed to have brief interactions with a touchscreen as long as its mounted.

the issue was (according to the judge) that the guy clearly was distracted for more than just a couple of seconds.
Like at that point it wouldnt have mattered if he would have played with the stereo in his vintage car or the touchscreen in his new car. He didnt pay attention.

Also the story is full of *sugar*, why would you freely admit that you were distracted to the police? you crash, call the police ,say you lost control, insurnace pays, done. its all a bit odd.

 

[smatthew]

its the same everywhere in the world. you are allowed to have brief interactions with a touchscreen as long as its mounted.

the issue was (according to the judge) that the guy clearly was distracted for more than just a couple of seconds.
Like at that point it wouldnt have mattered if he would have played with the stereo in his vintage car or the touchscreen in his new car. He didnt pay attention.

Also the story is full of *sugar*, why would you freely admit that you were distracted to the police? you crash, call the police ,say you lost control, insurnace pays, done. its all a bit odd.

You forgot about the white dog that ran into the roadway. You swerved to avoid it, and that's what caused the accident........

 

[mspohr]

I have a model S with a stalk to control the wipers but I never use it. The wipers switch on and off automatically.

 

[Knightshade]

I have a model S with a stalk to control the wipers but I never use it. The wipers switch on and off automatically.

FWIW- Assuming it's the 2015 in your sig- Tesla hasn't used that system since 2016.

Your car, like basically all other non-teslas in the world with auto wipers, has a physical rain sensor mounted to the windshield.

They work GREAT and have for decades now.


In 2016 when Tesla moved to the autopilot 2 hardware, they removed that and decided to rely on vision to "see" rain an activate the auto wipers.

It didn't work- at all- like wasn't even available to turn on- until start of 2018 though.

Then it pretty much sucked for another year or so.

It's pretty decent now... still not QUITE as good as the better systems with actual sensors, but close enough in most cases with the occasional use of the stalk button still needed.

 

[Matt2000]

I wouldn't mind seeing a more physical control for wiper speed, not that I think it's necessary when auto mode works well. Something like double press the stalk button, hold on second press and adjust with right scroll should be easy.

Personally I think the driver was doing something else on the touch screen and thought that he would get away with it if he argued that he was adjusting an essential parameter. In reality why would you have a Model 3 on manual wiper speed? Apparently it was on a highway too, why didn't he engage AP if he wanted to fiddle with something?

 

[Msjulie]

I have to admit the 3's auto wipers need some more smarts - it refuses to be reliable in dusk/dawn situations and occasionally goes off in bright sunny days. This is probably the only thing where I wish for real controls - that the wipers were on a 'smart stalk' like nearly every other modern car and quick and securely controlled without taking hands off the wheel or eyes off the road. The quick 'intermittent wipe' feature is a poor substitute for me even with it popping up the card for more control - too many actions for such a simple function. If auto were 99% foolproof maybe..

 

[Kevy Baby]

I would love to see more physical buttons return to the current cars but that's besides the point here.

Why do you want to go backwards technologically? Having mono-tasking physical switches just means more things to break. I love the clean minimalist look of the 3 - more switches/controls would take away from the design.

 

[cucubits]

Why do you want to go backwards technologically? Having mono-tasking physical switches just means more things to break. I love the clean minimalist look of the 3 - more switches/controls would take away from the design.

Having more physical switches doesn't mean going backwards technologically, this makes no sense. You can have a very modern and high tech interior with lots of switches. Heck make tiny screens on all switches if you need to have an lcd on everything.

What tesla is doing to me seems quite the opposite and not very smart. Instead of having subsystems controlled by individual switches, let's make one single thing that controls everything and if that breaks, nothing will work. How does this seem like advancement?

 

[New_Old_Stock]

I've been using the wipers a lot in the past month. The automatic setting is terrible.

 

[FRE0]

Hi all

I just read this rather concerning article. In Germany a model 3 driver got a fine and lost temporary his license because he touched the screen for adjusting the wiper speed during heavy rain. Unfortunately he caused an accident by doing that.

This falls under the law that you cannot touch your screen or electronic device while driving.

So even for safety precautions it is not allowed. This almost basically means they should forbid the model 3 since you cannot use it without.

Personally I should think this is impossible to be valid because the car is approved selling and registring in Germany in the conditions the car is made. Since you cannot use the car without the screen this could not be right.

Quite concerning development...

Hereby the link Urteil nach Tesla-Unfall: Gericht verbietet Touchscreen-Bedienung

This does point out the danger of touch screens. It may be that at some future date either touch screens will be illegalized or they will be required to be disabled while driving. They are dangerous!

Check out this link I found with a google search:
Touch Screens Are Distracting Drivers. What Are Carmakers Doing To Help?

 

[FRE0]

Or just leave them on automatic and press the button on the end of the left stick if you need an extra wipe!

Let's be honest. You're sensationalizing this news story like everyone else. He lost his license because he crashed his car AND admitted to being distracted at the time of the accident. There is no law saying you cannot touch your screen or electronic device while driving. Every car manufacturer makes touch screen vehicles now, and they are legal for sale.

If I crashed my Tesla in California, and admitted that I was messing around with the screen when I crashed, I would be charged with "failure to pay full attention to the road." California's rules state that you can poke at screens while driving, but you cannot hold the device (I believe that's correct). But, it is my responsibility to drive in a safe manner. If I crash while operating an accessory, I have failed to pay full (or full enough to not crash) attention to the road.

And messing around with something on a screen while driving in a heavy rain is almost always a recipe for disaster. In that situation, a prudent driver would either engage AutoPilot (which would have automatically engaged the wipers), or pulled over before using the screen.

But we know that many drivers will use touch screens in a dangerous manner. It is best to design cars with controls which distract the driver as little as possible. Touch screens do not qualify.

 

[mspohr]

This does point out the danger of touch screens. It may be that at some future date either touch screens will be illegalized or they will be required to be disabled while driving. They are dangerous!

Check out this link I found with a google search:
Touch Screens Are Distracting Drivers. What Are Carmakers Doing To Help?

Luddites unite!
This goes back to when radios were first installed in cars and disaster was predicted

 

[RL-TheDude]

Then I guess its great that you can change the wiper speed (and turn them on and off) by using voice commands, then.

This is and always will be the answer. At some point an interface that does voice control well enough erases this issue entirely.

 

[N2deep]

Since I live in Vegas where it never rains I have not used the wipers. But after a week of driving the M3 I think Tesla needs a HUD to keep from having to look down at the screen to check speed. Every notification requires me to look away and take my eyes off the road. Maybe that will get better with more windshield time, but there seems room for improvement in that area without adding physical buttons. Love the fact its so minimalist as the wifes Porsche has 100 buttons.