• Detroit News, Friday, February 17, 2012 11:50 AM

While automakers are thinking of ways to make cars more like rolling social-media nodes, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) wants automakers to simplify dashboards, not make them more complex.  Their goal is limiting the amount of time when drivers take their eyes off the road and their hands off the wheel.

Under guidelines issued Thursday, the Department of Transportation also proposed that automakers disable time-consuming functions, such as text messaging or Web browsing, unless the car is parked.

NHTSA drew heavily on recommendations drafted by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. Under NHTSA's guidelines, automakers would reduce the length, complexity and amount of inputs required for interactive tasks involving the driver. None of this will matter once cars drive themselves, though.

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