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Introduction: I have noticed that average people are clueless about ergonomics laws and don't understand that touchscreens in cars are uneasy and dangerous. I asked Grok AI to explain why.

Touch control screens in cars are becoming more common, but they’re a growing hazard. Unlike physical buttons or knobs, touchscreens require drivers to look away from the road. Studies show that taking your eyes off the road for just two seconds doubles the risk of a crash. With touchscreens, drivers often need more time to find and tap the right spot, pulling their focus from driving.

Physical controls, like buttons and dials, follow the laws of ergonomics. They let drivers operate them by feel, without glancing down. Research from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that tasks taking longer than 12 seconds to complete, common with touchscreens, significantly increase distraction. Physical controls are faster and instinctive, reducing mental and visual strain.

Common sense backs this up too. Imagine adjusting the heat or radio while driving. A knob can be turned blindly, but a touchscreen demands precision and attention. A 2021 study by the AAA Foundation showed drivers using touchscreens were distracted up to 50% longer than with physical controls. In high-speed situations, those extra seconds can be deadly.

Carmakers chasing sleek designs ignore this at our peril. Physical controls aren’t just nostalgic. They’re proven safer. Laws of ergonomics prioritize efficiency and intuition, not flashy gimmicks. Touchscreens might look modern, but they clash with how humans actually function behind the wheel.

Design experts have sounded the alarm. Automotive designer Frank Stephenson, known for the Mini Cooper, has called touchscreens “a step backward” for safety. Jony Ive, ex-Apple design chief, once stressed that interfaces should never compromise usability for aesthetics. Their warnings echo the data: cars need physical controls to keep drivers focused and roads safer.

Left-side driving Is unnatural, unergonomic, illogical

Driving on the left side of the road, with the steering wheel on the right, as seen in countries like the UK and Japan, might seem common to those accustomed to it. However, there are compelling reasons to argue this setup is less intuitive for most people. Let’s explore why this system could create unnatural stress, especially for right-handed individuals, using scientific facts and logical arguments.

Right-Handed Dominance Is the Norm

Around 85-90% of people worldwide are right-handed, according to studies like those from the University of Michigan. This dominance shapes how we interact with the world. From writing to driving, right-handed people naturally favor their right side. This preference extends to spatial awareness, where moving or orienting from left to right feels intuitive. Driving on the left, however, flips this natural flow, potentially causing cognitive friction.

Writing Direction Sets a Precedent

European languages, including English, are written and read from left to right. This direction aligns with the brain’s natural processing for right-handed people. Neuropsychology research, such as studies by Dr. Iain McGilchrist, suggests the brain’s left hemisphere, which controls the right hand, prefers sequential and linear patterns, like moving left to right. Driving on the left contradicts this ingrained pattern, forcing the brain to adapt to an unnatural orientation.

Ergonomics of Driving

In a right-hand drive car, the driver shifts gears or operates controls with their left hand, which is weaker and less coordinated for most people. A 2018 ergonomics study in the Journal of Human Factors found that right-handed individuals perform tasks more efficiently with their dominant hand. Using the left hand for critical driving tasks, like shifting or signaling, increases mental effort and error risk, creating unnecessary stress.

Psycho-Physical Stress

Driving on the left requires right-handed drivers to prioritize their weaker side for spatial judgments, like judging distances on the right. A 2020 study in Cognitive Psychology showed that right-handed people process spatial information faster on their right side. Constantly adjusting to the left side strains cognitive resources, potentially leading to fatigue or errors under pressure. This misalignment could subtly tax the brain over time.

Debunking the Horse Myth

The idea that left-side driving stems from riding horses on the left to keep the right hand free for swordplay is a popular but flawed explanation. If horses were the deciding factor, why do other countries, equally influenced by equestrian traditions drive on the right? Europe and America, with similar historical horse-riding cultures, adopted right-side driving, debunking the horse myth.

A Possible Oversight in Standardization

Instead, it’s more likely that left-side driving persisted in countries like the UK and Japan due to arbitrary convention or regional quirks. Those who standardized this system might have been left-handed or ambidextrous, overlooking the ergonomic challenges for right-handed people. Without clear evidence of a single decision-maker, the oversight reflects how minority preferences can shape societies that are unnatural and abnormal to the majority.

Intuitive Flow Matters

Driving should feel seamless. For right-handed people, navigating from left to right aligns with how they write, read, and move. A 2015 traffic study in Transportation Research noted that countries with left-to-right traffic flow (like the US) had slightly lower rates of certain collision types, possibly due to intuitive alignment. While correlation isn’t causation, it suggests a natural fit for right-handed drivers.

Adaptation Doesn’t Equal Optimization

People in the UK and Japan adapt to left-side driving, but common adaptation doesn’t mean it’s natural and normal. The brain is flexible, but forcing it to work against its natural bias can create low-level stress. Over time, this could affect focus or reaction times, especially in high-stakes situations. Right-side driving, with the wheel on the left, better matches human physiology for the majority.

Conclusion

Driving on the left with the wheel on the right isn’t inherently dangerous, but it’s arguably less natural for right-handed people. From brain wiring to ergonomics, evidence suggests this setup creates subtle inefficiencies and stress. Historical quirks, not horses, likely shaped these systems, possibly influenced by a minority unaware of right-handed needs. For a world where most people favor their right hand, driving from left to right just makes more sense.

In the beginning, Korean cars were ugly junk. Now their cars are reliable and well designed like European and Japanese. My Hyundai has almost 100.000 Km and it's still like new. Nothing bad ever happened.

The Chinese are not like Koreans. New Chinese cars have good design now, but unlike Koreans, they are using Japanese engines and other parts to be reliable.

If you are poor, you can easily buy Chinese cars now, but they are still made from Japanese parts.

But Koreans managed to achieve real European and Japanese quality. When I was choosing between European and Japanese as usual, they were all with the absurd 3 cylinder junk engines. The only car with a normal 4 cylinder engine I was able to find was a Korean Hyndai.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zsfZSaCXpM

In this Rare Cars documentary, we are jumping into the history of one of the most insane Factory Ford race cars ever built - the 4 1957 Thunderbird race cars affectionately nicknamed the Battlebirds!

These supercharged V8 (or the one 7.0L big block beast) were the tip of the spear in Fords performance arsenal when it came to destroying the Corvette and others on track - however these cars were mothballed before they could ever reach the real light of day thus ending their fascinating story before it could really get rolling.

Learn all there is to know about the Thunderbird "Battlebird" race cars in this episode of Rare Cars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7shiOTxtZQ

I called it before I watched the video!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_DFkW7kP9A

In this Rare Cars documentary, we are going over the story of what is quite possibly one of the most fascinating cars you have never heard of - the wooden framed wonder as I like to call it, the Marcos GT, this car is one of the most underrated English sports cars ever produced and it spawned an impressive lineup of future models including the Mantara, Mantula, Mantaray and many more - all stemming from its initial plywood chassis back in the early 60s.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy nearly 20 minutes of detailed history on the Marcos GT and its sister car.