MIT research reveals safety, consumer cost concerns in automated driving after 10 years of study

MIT‘s Advanced Vehicle Technology Consortium celebrated its 10th anniversary, marking a decade of collaboration between academia and industry to advance automotive technology through data-driven research. The consortium has collected hundreds of terabytes of data on driver behavior with sophisticated vehicle features, positioning itself as a global influencer in the automotive industry while addressing critical challenges including consumer trust, safety regulation, and the complexity of automated driving systems.

What you should know: The AVT Consortium brings together over 25 member organizations including automotive manufacturers, suppliers, and insurers to study real-world driver interactions with advanced vehicle technologies.

• The consortium has focused on developing insights into assistive and automated driving features, helping companies understand how consumers actually use these technologies versus how they’re designed to work.
• Current industry challenges include distracted driving, lack of consumer trust in automated features, and high expectations for vehicle technology, safety, and affordability.

The big picture: Industry experts emphasized that vehicle safety regulation must evolve alongside innovation rather than lagging behind by decades.

• John Bozzella of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation and Mark Rosekind, former NHTSA administrator, called for a more strategic, data-driven approach to safety regulation.
• They advocated for shared data platforms, anonymous reporting, and voluntary industry commitments similar to the successful automatic emergency braking initiative.
• “Safety delayed is safety denied,” Rosekind stated, emphasizing the need for explicit safety improvement strategies given 40,000 annual road fatalities.

Key challenges with automated driving: The industry faces significant hurdles in deploying Level 2 and Level 3 autonomous technologies effectively.

• Companies like Ford and Volkswagen have stepped back from full autonomy projects, focusing instead on assisted and automated driving systems.
• Consumer confusion remains high, with JD Power reporting that many drivers don’t understand the differences between L2 and L2+ systems or whether they provide safety or convenience features.
• Traffic deaths have risen 20 percent since 2020 despite the introduction of these technologies, indicating safety benefits haven’t materialized as expected.

What they’re saying: Industry leaders highlighted the complexity of handoff systems between human drivers and automated features.

• Pete Bigelow of Automotive News cited Bryan Reimer’s observation: “Level 3 systems are an engineer’s dream and a plaintiff attorney’s next yacht,” emphasizing the legal and design challenges.
• Mauricio Muñoz of AI Sweden warned that “the automotive industry cannot rely on general AI megatrends to solve domain-specific challenges,” stressing the need for targeted automotive AI research.
• Honda’s Ryan Harty noted that “what consumers buy in the market dictates what the manufacturers make,” emphasizing the importance of aligning innovation with consumer demand.

Repair and maintenance concerns: Advanced vehicle technologies are creating unintended consequences for vehicle ownership costs and serviceability.

• Even minor repairs now require costly sensor recalibrations, with inconsistent manufacturer guidance and no clear consumer alerts when systems are out of calibration.
• The collision repair panel warned that spiraling repair costs, labor shortages, and lack of repairability standards threaten consumer safety and trust.
• Insurance premiums are climbing as more people forgo insurance claims due to high repair costs.

Looking ahead: Industry leaders stressed the need for consumer-centered innovation and global collaboration.

• Honda aims for zero environmental impact and zero traffic fatalities, with plans to be 100 percent electric by 2040.
• Infrastructure investment, regulatory modernization, and consumer expectations must evolve together to support advanced vehicle technologies.
• Reimer concluded by calling for partnerships between industry, academia, and government to prioritize affordability, transparency, and public good over pure technological advancement.