Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by s1artibartfast 895 days ago
Have driven through a roundabout, still dont understand the issue. I have thumb actuated volume buttons on my steering wheel, and can use them in a turn.

I actually could see the the lever being harder.

If im going through a roundabout with my hands at 12 and 4, a shifter at 9 seems hard to actuate.

Im guessing that roundabouts in Norway are tighter than im used to, and drivers have to reset their hand position away from the button to ergonomically maintain the turn?

I couldnt see how this detail isnt obvious from the article description, especially to someone who doesnt drive.

1 comments

In a roundabout, I (so as to not generalize how people drive), move my hands on the steering while turning - as in turn and then then when hands cross, adjust and turn more. As in when going anti-clockwise on a U.S. roundabout, initially the right had is on right and left on left, but while turning the hands cross (left hand on right and right on left), so you adjust and lather-rinse-repeat. (I hope I'm making sense).

So: the signal/indicator lever is in a fixed position which can be pressed when the correct turn/exit comes. But if the buttons are on the steering (I'm assuming 2 buttons, touch or actual doesn't matter), their position changes as the steering is rotating so I will have to take my eyes off the road and see where in the steering is the correct button and then press it. For a right exit/turn, the button may be on right, or left, or top or bottom or anywhere on the steering depending on the amount of steering turn.

This is what makes it hard/inconvenient/dangerous.

that makes sense, I am also curious how this all translates to teslas with Yolk wheels where you don't reposition on the wheel (like pictured in the article)
I have my own opinions about that, which I'm going to keep to myself at the moment since I have not actually tried that steering wheel.

For now I think a circular wheel is a better design, but I don't know.

However, the turn signal/indicator button on Yolk steering might be less of an issue, but I feel that it would still be worse than the fixed lever.