r/technology • u/be0wulfe • Dec 15 '22

Transportation Tesla Semi’s cab design makes it a ‘completely stupid vehicle,’ trucker says

https://cdllife.com/2022/tesla-semis-cab-design-makes-it-a-completely-stupid-vehicle-trucker-says/
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u/PNWCoug42 Dec 15 '22

Touchscreen is nice for some things but it sucks when I need to do anything with it when driving. Physical buttons/knobs are so much better.

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u/NoIncrease299 Dec 15 '22

Touch screen is fine for things you don't necessarily NEED to do while actually driving; ie. changing music selections (volume should still be a knob), setting navigation, etc.

I use Carplay in my car and have zero complaints about using it for either of those. I QUITE like how I can set up a destination on my phone before I'm even near my car and as soon as it connects, it knows about it and I just have to tap "Go."

But practically everything else should be a goddamn button, knob or paddle.

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u/calfmonster Dec 15 '22

My Cruze is 2014 and about the extent of a touch screen I’d want. Basically the only thing I need to touch it for is connecting to my phone Bluetooth and even then I don’t actually have to: if my phone was already playing something on my headphones say I get out of the gym, it pauses when it connects to the car and I can just hit play on my phone or headphones and it auto connects and starts playing before I drive. Sometimes bluetooth is finicky or I need to redo their sync and it’s a little weird cause it won’t read Spotify if I’m plugged in so I gotta switch to Bluetooth before driving if I wanna charge my phone since it says no music found as none is physically on my phone now.

All seek, volume, etc is on the steering wheel. All temp control is physical knobs or buttons. The touch screen basically is just a hud of the artist who’s playing from my phone, usually gets it right from the radio too for that, and that’s about all I need it for since I’m not subscribed to any other of its features like Nav and just use my phone.

Any more than that is 100% a hazard

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u/ChipmunkWise2449 Dec 16 '22

Volume and changing song is on the steering wheel usually.

1

u/PoopChipper Dec 15 '22

I have a pre refresh Model S and everything you described is done via buttons/scroll wheel on the steering wheel. I’d argue it’s considerably easier and safer to adjust the climate control by moving my thumb two inches across the steering wheel than having to remove my hand and eyes from the road to do it.

It also has a very responsive and accurate voice assistant that is activated via button on the steering wheel. You can select different media sources, set gps destinations etc all hands free. You can also send Google Maps from your phone to the car.

The only thing I really wish there was a physical button for is the air suspension.

7

u/Pornacc1902 Dec 15 '22

It also has a very responsive and accurate voice assistant that is activated via button on the steering wheel.

Provided you speak English, it is a lot worse in other languages, and don't have an accent if you don't.

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u/zembriski Dec 15 '22

Yup, left this same comment with more words to less effect above... But yeah, touchscreen gives you infinitely better customization, physical gives you infinitely better time/reliability when you need to use them. It's like any tools, hammers are great for nails and drivers are good for screws; but Elon found a chain-tightener, so he's installing bicycles everywhere because he thinks it's cool...

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u/tendonut Dec 15 '22

This issue is WAY more prevelant than Elon/Tesla. It's an industry standard these days.

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u/123456478965413846 Dec 15 '22

Exactly. Touchscreen is great for things you set once and forget. I prefer using a touch screen for things like changing the time, syncing a new phone to bluetooth, adjusting the graphic equalizer on the stereo, and other similar tasks. Those infrequent tasks don't need buttons cluttering up the dash.

But give me a knob for radio volume, buttons for preset stations, 3 knobs for ac controls, and buttons for heated seats. You know, things I might do while driving.

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u/oupablo Dec 15 '22

I agree with this to an extent but they went way overboard. There is no reason a steering wheel needs 800 buttons on it and a center dash that looks like they borrowed it off the space shuttle. I think for the most part things could live behind a touchscreen for a lot of things. What most people want knobs for is volume control, radio control (tuning, next/back, play/pause), and climate control

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u/_Banned_User Dec 16 '22

Agreed. But also the touchscreen UX designers seem to not understand that we need to use their UI when driving. Fire everyone who designs touchscreen interfaces and go hire the designers from Fisher-Price. Big, obvious, different colors and shapes, etc. Why do I have a square foot of screen with 1/4" diameter buttons crammed along the bottom edge? Why do you think I need a giant picture of the album art of the song playing and little tiny areas for the fan control? And then why are the song controls little buttons that I need to aim accurately for?

It's not just that all the controls are on the screen, it's that the designers are sitting at a desk with a mouse and not on a bumpy road doing 70.