Road safety experts in the UK and beyond are sounding the alarm over the increasing complexity and distraction caused by high-tech features in modern cars.

Large touchscreens are a particular problem, along with infotainment systems and software-centred dashboards.

New research and industry commentary suggest these technologies, designed to enhance convenience, may be undermining driver focus and contributing to an emerging safety problem on Britain’s roads.

Eyes off the road

Safety specialists have highlighted that today’s vehicle interiors increasingly resemble rolling computers, with touchscreens replacing traditional, tactile buttons and dials for essential functions like climate control, media and navigation.

Professor Milad Haghani, a road safety expert at the University of Melbourne, told media outlets that these systems “require visual attention and demand glance durations often longer than safe thresholds”.

He warns that such extended visual distraction can be deadly when vehicles are in motion.

Experts argue that even brief glances away from the road can have serious consequences.

Research outside the UK has shown that interacting with infotainment systems, such as entering navigation details, can distract drivers visually and mentally for dozens of seconds at a time.

It far exceeds the two-second threshold often cited as doubling crash risk during mobile phone use.

Calls for Simplicity

In response to these concerns, safety groups are urging regulators and manufacturers to re-evaluate how technology is integrated into vehicles.

Some experts are advocating a return to simpler, more intuitive controls, including physical buttons and levers for core functions, arguing that these allow drivers to operate systems by feel without taking their eyes off the road.

Advocates of this “back to basics” approach say the trend toward touchscreen-based controls goes too far, especially when critical features like lights, wipers and hazard warnings are buried deep within digital menus rather than assigned dedicated, tactile switches.

Studies suggest that interacting with touchscreens significantly reduces drivers’ reaction times, in some cases by more than 50%, potentially more than even mobile phone use.

Some regulators are beginning to respond.

The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) has announced changes to its safety rating systems that will favour vehicles with physical controls for essential functions, encouraging manufacturers to design interfaces that minimise distraction.

Similarly, automotive safety bodies in Australia and New Zealand are moving toward rules requiring physical buttons in new car designs from 2026, to help reduce in-motion distraction and enhance road safety.

Echoing the warnings

Road safety organisations in the UK have also expressed concern.

The RAC has noted that interactions with modern touchscreen systems contribute to driver errors, with nearly a third of motorists admitting they had been distracted by in-car technology during a journey.

Safety advocates also highlight that the ubiquity of smartphone integration, even when systems are marketed as “hands-free,” still creates cognitive distraction and shifts focus from the driving task, compounding the risks posed by built-in screens.

Getting the balance

While many motorists appreciate the connectivity and convenience offered by modern vehicle technology, growing evidence suggests that the balance between innovation and safety may have tipped too far.

Public surveys show that a significant proportion of drivers find current infotainment systems overly complex and distracting, with some drivers expressing nostalgia for simpler vehicle controls that allow them to focus on the road rather than menus and apps.

As vehicles become increasingly software-centric, safety experts are urging a rethink of design priorities.

Designers need to ensure that new technology enhances safety without compromising driver attention.

As one advocate put it: “Innovation should enhance safety, not undermine it.”

The debate now gathering pace suggests that, unless regulators and manufacturers act, the benefits to road safety of modern tech over the decades could be undermined by the latest tech in the cabin.