Keyboard instruments: buttons in cars want to become mandatory in the Russian Federation

In Russia, there may be separate requirements for equipping cars with a minimum set of "physical" buttons for controlling basic functions, as well as standards for cybersecurity of cars. Such proposals were announced in the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation as part of a round table discussion on car safety. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.

What gadgets!

In Russia, it is necessary to prescribe in the regulatory documents concerning the certification of cars the requirements for the mandatory presence in the car interior of a minimum set of "physical" keys responsible for controlling basic functions. This was stated by Vladimir Korobchak, Deputy Chairman of the All-Russian Society of Motorists, during the round table "Innovative technologies in ensuring car safety as a source of increased danger" held at the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation. Recently, more and more cars are equipped with screens and displays in which the control of all functions of the car is "wired". At the same time, in order to turn on or adjust something, the driver has to be distracted from driving, which affects road safety, he stressed.

— Now the car looks more and more like a smartphone or some other gadget. Traffic regulations strictly prohibit drivers from using their phones while driving, as it distracts them. But the multimedia screen is essentially the same smartphone. The driver should not be distracted at speed and look on the display for how to change the direction of the air or turn on the seat heating," said Vladimir Korobchak.

In his opinion, the trend towards an abundance of displays in the car and the abandonment of traditional keys and controls in the cabin is even more dangerous than talking on the phone while driving. After all, in this case, the driver is not just distracted, but also switches his attention for a long time to search for the desired function in the multimedia system menu, while holding the handset to his ear, he still at least looks at the road, said the deputy chairman of the All-Russian Society of Motorists.

— It is important to determine the minimum set of functions of the car, which should be controlled by ordinary keys, buttons or controls, and to make recommendations for the authorities that issue permits for the operation of vehicles in our country. There must be clear requirements for managing certain machine functions: you can't put everything into gadgets," says Vladimir Korobchak.

Valery Soldunov, a member of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, agrees with him. He also believes that the fashion for abandoning conventional buttons in cars and replacing them with displays and gadgets goes against road safety.

— The driver has to take longer off the road to turn something on, off, or adjust on the display, rather than using a key. From a security point of view, this is wrong," he stressed.

With an eye to the future

Along with traditional active and passive safety systems that reduce the severity of accidents or prevent the development of potentially dangerous situations on the road, more and more modern cars are equipped with so-called preventive safety systems, said Alexander Kholodov, Deputy Chairman of the Commission on Safety and Interaction with the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation.

— Modern cars are equipped with radars, lidars, cameras, and often when due to weather conditions the driver cannot notice markings or signs, they distinguish them and warn the motorist or even take some measures themselves. Moreover, taking into account digitalization, these systems even know about signs or restrictions, being hundreds of kilometers away from them," he noted.

Alexander Kholodov stressed that technology already makes it possible to assess the driver's condition at the wheel: take a pulse reading, measure the temperature using a sensor on the steering wheel, and assess the degree of fatigue. In some cases, cars can already exchange information with each other about obstacles, restrictions, traffic jams, and warn about pedestrians. These systems also need to be regulated, he noted.

Active safety systems are primarily tied to infrastructure, said Alexander Zubik, Product Director at Havale Motor Rus. In China, they "know" all the traffic lights, interchanges, forks and lanes and are guided by them.

— In Russian conditions, they are still less applicable, insofar as it requires a serious change in infrastructure. We should not forget that it is the driver who should dominate driving: all these systems, including autonomous control, do not replace, but only help and complement it," he stressed.

Taking into account the active introduction of electronic and digital driver assistants, including autonomous control systems, it is already necessary to think about the issues of cybersecurity of the car, says Grigory Mazlumyan, vice-rector for Research at Moscow Automobile and Highway State Technical University.

It is necessary to understand who will be the moderator of the digital platform, where data on roads and infrastructure will be uploaded, and through which in the near future cars will be able to tell the driver about situations on the road and exchange information with each other. This should be state regulation, otherwise, if such data is concentrated in the hands of a certain company, there is a risk that they will end up abroad and collapse will occur," he stressed.

"Where's his button?"

Ilya Saveliev, Executive Director of Hongqi in Russia, believes that the dilemma of balancing electronic control systems and physical buttons has always been and will always be.

"Along with marketing, there are also technical limitations: in some cases, automakers simply cannot produce cars with separate physical buttons," he said.

From the point of view of safety, individual buttons are preferable, says Maxim Kadakov, editor-in-chief of Za Rulem magazine. However, the idea of obliging all automakers to equip their models with such keys separately for our market is not feasible, he believes.

— There is a certain interior design, there are certain technological cycles of car production. It is almost impossible to find a place for individual buttons in the car interior specifically for our country, as well as to change the cycle at the factory," said the editor-in—chief of Za Rulem

According to Maxim Kadakov, a system similar to the one that will start operating abroad next year would be more effective, when reputable organizations involved in car safety reduce the rating of a particular model if it does not have separate keys for controlling basic functions. In our country, this is possible as part of the planned relaunch of the Russian national car safety rating Russian New Car Assessment Program (RuNCAP). At the same time, the expert noted, in some cases, automakers have already equipped some models with separate keys specifically for Russia to control and adjust individual functions or settings.

We need control

The Public Chamber also discussed the recent investigation by Izvestia, which revealed the mechanism of fraud in the car certification system.

The participants of the round table agreed that along with the new requirements for the safety of vehicles, it is necessary to strengthen control over compliance with existing standards regarding the rules for confirming compliance with vehicle safety requirements.