Europe’s top vehicle safety organization, Euro NCAP, plans to penalize car manufacturers that require drivers to operate essential safety control features via a touchscreen.
NCAP, the highest authority in Europe for evaluating the safety of new cars, has decided to implement new regulations from January 2026. Manufacturers will be penalized if they enable the operation of the vehicle’s main control functions with a touchscreen instead of physical buttons and levers. The main control functions include indicators, hazard warning lights, windshield wipers, emergency call systems, and horns.
Even traditional manufacturers, who have been controlling these features with physical buttons and levers, are recently following the trend of the electric vehicle industry, where these functions are incorporated into steering wheels and touchscreens. This is because it is aesthetically cleaner and can also reduce the cost of manufacturing.
Tesla Model S allows you to turn on the windshield wiper with a button on the steering wheel instead of a lever and to adjust its speed with a touchscreen. This has led to legal disputes between German authorities and drivers. A driver has received a penalty equivalent to the punishment of using a mobile phone while driving.
In an interview with The Times, Matthew Avery, Director of Strategic Development at Euro NCAP, stated, “The overuse of touchscreens is spreading across the industry,” and “Almost all recent car manufacturers are moving major controls to the central touchscreen, which distracts the drivers’ attention and increases the risk of accidents.” He added, “In the new tests to be implemented in 2026, we plan to encourage manufacturers to use separate physical controllers so that the basic functions can be intuitively understood and a safer driving environment can be promoted.”
NCAP cannot force sanctions on car manufacturers. However, suppose it is revealed that a vehicle received a low score from NCAP, a car safety evaluation organization located in every region and country. In that case, the manufacturer will likely suffer a fatal blow to its sales.
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