Should touchscreen usability become part of fleet vehicle selection?

A driver's hand pointing at an in-car touchscreen

Fleet safety policies routinely consider Euro NCAP performance, ADAS equipment and driver training.

But should dashboard usability now form part of vehicle selection too?

Arval has highlighted growing concern around touchscreen-heavy vehicle interfaces and driver distraction.

The issue is particularly relevant for fleet drivers who regularly move between different makes and models, where functions such as heating, demisting, navigation and driver-assistance settings can be located in very different parts of an infotainment system.

For fleet managers, that suggests another factor to assess during vehicle evaluation.

An interface that requires several touchscreen actions to perform a commonly used function could create more distraction than a vehicle providing a simple physical control.

Fleets could also make dashboard familiarisation a more explicit part of vehicle handover, particularly where drivers change vehicles frequently.

Vehicle technology should ultimately reduce workload rather than requiring drivers to search through menus while moving.

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