The Importance of Steering Wheel Control for Cars

A driver's eyes and hands are extremely important tools for driving. Keeping your eyes on the road and hands on the wheel can increase auto safety for everyone in your own car and those around you. While people are looking for a suitable Android car DVD for their dashboard, they start to focus the steering wheel control function.

These multi-function steering wheels, as some companies call them, improve driving safety by putting the most commonly used controls in one of the most convenient places possible -- right at the driver's fingertips.

It's not surprising, then, to learn that the most commonly used controls have made their way onto the steering wheel

• Cruise control:including a buttons for setting and changing speed
• Sound system controls:usually for adjusting volume or scanning preset radio stations
• Phone answering:often with Bluetooth or similar wireless connections

Some cars go even further in using the steering wheel to increase car safety by adding controls for air conditioning, a steering wheel heater, or even access to an on-board computer. Most often, these controls are installed at the factory and come with the car when it's new, either as standard equipment or as optional upgrades. Some companies, like Pioneer, even sell steering-wheel-mounted remotes for their BMW Navigation -- again, to improve driving safety.

Even in the best-designed cars, having things like radio controls in the center console between the two front seats requires the driver to take his or her eyes off the road for a second, or two -- or even more, sometimes -- to locate the volume knob or station preset buttons. Once the driver finds the button or knob they're looking for, one hand has to leave the steering wheel to change the radio station or crank up the volume.

By using steering wheel buttons, all those extra motions can be avoided. At first, the driver may need to glance down to remember which button moves the radio station to the next preset or which toggle switch adjusts the volume. But after using these steering wheel controls for even a few trips, the driver will become accustomed to the placement. With a little practice, your thumbs will switch from your spouse's favorite station to yours and turn up the tunes without ever taking your eyes from the road or your hands from the steering wheel.

Phones that are able to be used with wireless systems like Bluetooth further up the auto safety ante. Many states restrict in-car mobile phone use to hands-free devices. A steering wheel with built-in buttons for sending and receiving phone calls makes the process easier and a lot safer.

If more drivers are able to pay extra attention to driving and less to reaching for the Android 2 din car stereo, or fumbling for their phone, they have a better chance of reacting to split-second situations that could otherwise lead to accidents.