AVT News
Pnina Gershon Presents on Mental Health and Driving Safety at the 2025 Lifesavers Conference
AgeLab Research Scientist Pnina Gershon gave a presentation titled “Distractions You Can’t See—Insights on Mental Health and Driving Outcomes” during a panel discussion at the 2025 Lifesavers Conference on Roadway Safety. Other panel members were Jennifer Katzenstein of Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and Courtney Nowland of the Kansas Traffic Safety Resource Office.
Gershon began by highlighting the substantial prevalence of mental health conditions in the US; slightly less than a quarter of all American adults are diagnosed with a mental health condition. She also cited the prevalence of common mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, bipolar disorder, and OCD.
Zach Noonan Presents Research on Drivers’ Use of Tesla’s Auto Lane Change at TRB 2025 Annual Meeting
AgeLab Postdoctoral Associate Zach Noonan presented research at the Transportation Research Board 2025 Annual Meeting on Tesla drivers’ utilization of the auto lane change feature before and after major software version updates.
Noonan’s presentation drew from a study titled “Changes in Adoption and Use Patterns of an Automated Lane Change Feature Following Over-the-Air Software Updates” and took place as part of a Lectern Session, “Impact of Individuals, Family, Community, and Technology on Driving Safety and Training.”
Bryan Reimer named to FAA Rulemaking Committee
January 21, 2025
Bryan Reimer, a research scientist at the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics (CTL), and the founder and co-leader of the Advanced Vehicle Technology Consortium and the Human Factors Evaluator for Automotive Demand Consortium in the MIT AgeLab, has been appointed to the Task Force on Human Factors in Aviation Safety Aviation Rulemaking Committee (HF Task Force ARC). The HF Task Force ARC will provide recommendations to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on the most significant human factors and the relative contribution of these factors to aviation safety risk.
Transforming Transportation Advisory Committee Delivers Report to U.S. Department of Transportation
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DoT) Transforming Transportation Advisory Committee (TTAC), on which AgeLab Research Scientist Bryan Reimer is an appointee, issued a report on artificial intelligence, automated driving, project delivery, and innovation for safety. The TTAC provides strategic guidance and recommendations to the DoT on integrating emerging technologies into transportation systems to improve safety, efficiency, and equity. It is comprised of 27 experts and advocates from academia, local government, industry, and the labor sector. In 2024, Dr. Reimer, who is also the Director of the AgeLab’s AVT Consortium, was appointed to the TTAC by DoT secretary Pete Buttegieg and has since served as the vice-chair of the Artificial Intelligence Subcommittee and as member of the Innovation for Safety Subcommittee.
AV Readiness Increases After a Two-Year Decline, J.D. Power Finds
October 22, 2024
The automotive industry is seeing small signs of increased consumer confidence in fully automated self-driving vehicles, although overall confidence remains low, according to the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Mobility Confidence Index (MCI) StudySM, released today. After a two-year decline, the index score for consumer automated vehicle (AV) readiness increases 2 points to 39 (on a 100-point scale), which is where it was in 2022.
While the index has started to move in the right direction, the pace with which consumers accept the technology remains relatively flat among the general population and safety continues to affect consumer confidence. To drive positive change, 83% of consumers say they want more safety statistics regarding the technology before riding and 86% say they want the ability to take control of the vehicle if needed. Until these issues are addressed and consumer expectations are met, gains in consumer confidence with the technology will remain low.
https://ctl.mit.edu/news/av-readiness-increases-after-two-year-decline-jd-power-finds
Pnina Gershon and Zach Noonan Present Driving Behavior Research at HFES 2024
AgeLab Research Scientist and AVT Consortium co-Director Pnina Gershon was a member of a panel at the HFES ASPIRE International Meeting on advances and challenges in vehicle electrification and how the increasing adoption of electric vehicles may pose considerations for road and driver safety and new thinking on transportation infrastructure.
Noonan’s paper presentation described a study that quantified bidirectional gazing–when drivers and pedestrians look at one another–in a naturalistic setting. Understanding bidirectional gazing provides insights into the communication dynamics between pedestrians and drivers, and their relation to infrastructural support (e.g., a stop sign).
Pnina Gershon Presents on Public Attitudes toward Automated Vehicles at TRB ARTS 2024
AgeLab Research Scientist and AVT co-director Pnina Gershon was a speaker at the 2024 TRB Automated Road Transportation Symposium, taking part in a plenary session that focused on communication with the public about automated vehicle technologies.
An ongoing national survey of the public conducted by the AgeLab and J.D. Power tracks the public’s perceptions and acceptance of automated vehicle technologies. Those surveys consistently uncover results showing a widespread belief among the public that self-driving cars are currently available for purchase today – which is not the case – suggesting confusion about what technologies are available in the marketplace.
Bryan Reimer Presents on the Gradual Progress of AVs at Best of Belron 2024
AgeLab Research Scientist and the AVT Consortium’s Founder and Co-Director Bryan Reimer gave a keynote presentation at the Best of Belron 2024 Conference, a meeting to discuss trends in the automotive industry including advancements in autonomous driving and artificial intelligence.
Dr. Reimer’s presentation, titled Assisted and Automated Driving: A Savior in the Making?” contextualized driver assistance technology as having a history going back decades – one that has lessons as we reckon with the future of technologies in vehicles.
Samantha Haus Presents at TRB on Effects of Electric Cars, Assistance Systems on Driving Behavior
February 6, 2024
Results from the study indicated that the use of driver assistance systems is related to increased rates of speeding among drivers, but also may result in safer driving, as indicated by less sudden acceleration and deceleration events. Drivers of electric vehicles were also more likely to speed and to exhibit a greater tendency toward sudden speed changes, but over time, these differences decreased, likely because the drivers became more accustomed to operating the unfamiliar vehicle.
Bryan Reimer named to US Department of Transportation innovation committee
January 29, 2024
Bryan Reimer has been appointed by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT) to the Transforming Transportation Advisory Committee (TTAC). The committee advises the DoT and the secretary of transportation about plans and approaches for transportation innovation.
Bryan Reimer Talks Driver Assistance Systems for Travelers Institute Webinar
September 13, 2023
Dr. Bryan Reimer sat down for an episode of the “Wednesdays with Woodward” webinar series, hosted by the Travelers Institute, as he shared insights from MIT’s Advanced Vehicle Technology Consortium, which studies real life drivers in and around New England operating some of today’s most tech-forward vehicle models.
https://www.travelers.com/travelers-institute/webinar-series/symposia-series/adas
Bryan Reimer: ‘Cruise Should Stop, Reboot’
September 5, 2023
Bryan Reimer discusses what needs to happen next for the Autonomous Vehicle (AV) industry and the public to establish confidence in robotaxis.
Pnina Gershon Presents AVT Research at ARTS 2023
July 13, 2023
Dr. Gerson’s presentation, titled “Driver Behavior When Using Commercially Available Partial Automation, Evidence from Real-World Driving,” discussed findings from research conducted by the AgeLab’s Automated Vehicle Technologies Consortium (AVT), of which Dr. Gershon is a co-director.
How Technology Can Help Reduce Driver Distraction
April 7, 2023
AgeLab Research Scientist Pnina Gershon is the lead author of a report published by the National Distracted Driving Coalition on the potential of existing and emerging technologies to reduce distracted driving and support drivers.
‘Shift’ Podcast Features Bryan Reimer Discussing Move to “Level 3” Automated Vehicles
March 8, 2023
The “Shift” podcast from Automotive News dives into a coming wave of new advanced vehicle technologies, with an appearance by AgeLab Research Scientist Bryan Reimer, who shared his perspective as well as an overview of the AgeLab’s AVT Consortium’s efforts to collect data that describes drivers’ use of automated vehicle technologies.
CES Panel with Bryan Reimer Discusses the Long Road to Safer Automated Vehicles
January 12, 2023