Drivefulness™ research explores the human side of a nearly $100 billion roadway risk
BLOOMINGTON, Ill., Oct. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As vehicles become more connected and technology-enabled, the challenge of distracted driving is becoming more complex across the country. The question is no longer simply what distracts drivers, but understanding why people make certain choices behind the wheel and how technology may influence those decisions.
State Farm® and the MIT AgeLab are exploring those questions through a research initiative examining driver attention, distraction, and the behaviors that influence decision-making behind the wheel. Researchers have coined the term “drivefulness” to describe a state in which a driver is safe, aware, appropriately engaged, and ready to respond to the road, while being supported in having the best possible driving experience for them.
The study brings together State Farm’s decades of experience understanding crash risk, driver behavior, and the real-world consequences of distraction with MIT AWARE initiative’s multidisciplinary research expertise in transportation safety, human factors, behavioral science, and how people interact with technology.
Distracted driving carries significant human and economic consequences. According to U.S. Department of Transportation research, distraction was involved in 29% of motor vehicle crashes studied, contributing to more than 10,000 deaths, 1.3 million injuries, and an estimated $98.2 billion in economic costs.
Understanding the relationship among driver attention, distraction, and behaviors could help inform how automakers, organizations, regulators, and insurers approach roadway safety, risk prevention, and the design of future driving experiences.
“Distracted driving is not simply about whether a driver knows what is safe or unsafe. It reflects a much more complex interaction between the driver’s state, the demands of the driving environment, and the technologies that compete for or support their attention,” said Dr. Pnina Gershon of the MIT AgeLab. “With this research, we are looking beyond individual moments of distraction to understand what drivers need to be prepared, attentive, and appropriately engaged during the driving task. That allows us to think differently about safety and about how technology, information, and interventions can support drivers before, during, and after the drive.”
Dr. Gershon is the director of the MIT AWARE initiative and a co-director of the MIT Advanced Vehicle Technology Consortium. With more than two decades of research experience, she leads work at the intersection of driving safety, human behavior, health, and human-centered AI. Her research uses sensing, real-world data, and behavioral analytics to understand human states and to develop technologies and interventions that support safer, more effective interactions between people and increasingly automated systems.
Understanding the behavior behind the risk
Drivers may know distraction is dangerous, but State Farm research shows that knowledge doesn’t always change what happens behind the wheel. Sixty-eight percent of drivers admit to engaging in distracting behaviors while driving, and 44% say they have crashed or experienced a near-crash while doing so.
Perception may be part of the challenge. Sixty-two percent of drivers believe taking their eyes off the road for two or more seconds is safe, even though a two-second glance away doubles crash risk.
“Technology is changing the driving experience, creating new opportunities to better understand and support drivers,” said Jeff Legner, technology executive at State Farm. “The more we learn about how people interact with technology behind the wheel, the better positioned we are to anticipate evolving risks, improve driver experiences and explore new approaches to accident prevention. This research can help turn those insights into meaningful ways to support drivers before, during and after every drive.”
Combining real-world risk with behavioral science
State Farm has worked to address distracted driving from multiple angles, including advocating for stronger hands-free laws, supporting cross-industry safety research and advancing technology that can help drivers better understand their behavior. That work includes telematics-based tools for customers and collaboration with companies such as Cambridge Mobile Telematics to explore how technology and data can help reduce roadway risk. The MIT AgeLab brings deep expertise in understanding the human side of a rapidly changing driving environment.
The collaboration builds on an established research relationship between State Farm and MIT, including State Farm’s participation in the MIT Advanced Vehicle Technology Consortium, which studies how drivers interact with increasingly automated and technology-enabled vehicles.
First findings expected in October
The first phase of the research is focused on establishing a deeper understanding of how people perceive and manage attention behind the wheel.
Findings from the first phase of the drivefulness study are expected later in October 2026, providing an early look at what the research is uncovering about driver attention, distraction and behavior through consumer survey findings.
The findings will help inform the next phase of drivefulness research, beginning in January 2027, on how people, technology and the driving environment can work together to support safer driving.
About State Farm®
For over 100 years, the mission of State Farm has been to help people manage the risks of everyday life, recover from the unexpected and realize their dreams. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company and its affiliates are the largest providers of auto and home insurance combined in the United States. Its more than 19,200 agent offices and over 62,000 employees serve over 96 million policies and accounts – including auto, fire, life, health, commercial policies and financial services accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats and motorcycles, is also available. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 32 on the 2025 Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit http://www.statefarm.com.
About the AWARE initiative at the MIT AgeLab
AWARE is an MIT research initiative focused on developing intelligent vehicle systems that can better understand drivers and support them in real-world conditions. Based at the MIT AgeLab and Center for Transportation & Logistics, AWARE brings together naturalistic driving research, advanced simulation, behavioral science, and artificial intelligence to study how driver state, behavior, and context interact across the driving journey. Its research examines areas such as distraction, fatigue, impairment, workload, automation use, driver monitoring, and human-machine interaction, with the goal of moving beyond simply detecting driver behavior toward systems that can sense, interpret, respond, and promote safer and more appropriate driver engagement. Through this work, AWARE is building the evidence and methods needed to support the next generation of adaptive, human-centered mobility technologies. For more information about AWARE, visit https://ctl.mit.edu/aware-initiative, and about the AgeLab, visit https://agelab.mit.edu/.
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