The BMW brain trust in Spandau probably has some esoteric electrical engineering reason for using the power button to stop the engine, but to me this is utterly fricking stupid. I have been a professional military and civilian airline pilot instructor for most of my career. Instructional pedagogy stresses a learning principal ("law of learning" according to the behaviorists) of
first learned best learned. Automobiles I have driven (VW, Chevrolet, Lexus, BMW, Porsche, Audi, Dodge and Jeep) and myriad aircraft I have flown, (Cessna, Piper, Beech, Canadair, Boeing, Pilatus, Airbus, Lockheed, and Dehavilland), all
TURN OFF EXACTLY THE WAY THEY TURN ON. If one never uses the emergency shut-off button, it is, in my opinion, highly unlikely any person will be able to remember to use it in an emergency as
this has never been practiced. This pertains to another "law of learning", the
law of exercise which invokes the concept of regular practice of an action, or series of actions, to achieve a fluency which will eventually become second nature.
One commits the action without having to think about it. In addition, the
law of recency overlaps, in that when one has performed actions recently, they are more likely to be performed correctly. Thus, practice makes perfect. Two buttons, one to be used all the time, the other in an "emergency" is not consistent with any solid modern design or ergonomic principles. So endeth the rant.
