Google’s self-driving cars can ‘exceed the speed limit to aid safety’

According to Google's lead software engineer, Dmitri Dolgov, the company’s self-driving cars are programmed to stay within the speed limit, mostly. Research shows that sticking to the speed limit when other cars are going much faster actually can be dangerous, Dolgov says, so its autonomous car can go up to 10 mph (16 kph) above the speed limit when traffic conditions warrant. Dolgov told Reuters during a test drive that when surrounding vehicles were breaking the speed limit, going more slowly could act
August 20, 2014 Read time: 2 mins

According to 1691 Google's lead software engineer, Dmitri Dolgov, the company’s self-driving cars are programmed to stay within the speed limit, mostly. Research shows that sticking to the speed limit when other cars are going much faster actually can be dangerous, Dolgov says, so its autonomous car can go up to 10 mph (16 kph) above the speed limit when traffic conditions warrant.

Dolgov told Reuters during a test drive that when surrounding vehicles were breaking the speed limit, going more slowly could actually present a danger, and the Google car would accelerate to keep up.

"Thousands and thousands of people are killed in car accidents every year," said Dmitri Dolgov, the project's boyish Russian-born lead software engineer, who now is a U.S. citizen, describing his sense of mission. "This could change that."

In July, the UK government announced measures that would give the green light for driverless cars to take to UK roads from January 2015. Ministers also launched a review to look at current road regulations to establish how the UK can remain at the forefront of driverless car technology and ensure there is an appropriate regime for testing driverless cars in the UK.

Commenting on Google self-drive cars' ability to exceed the speed limit, a 1837 Department for Transport spokesman said: "There are no plans to change speed limits, which will still apply to driverless cars."

European Traffic Police Network (650 TISPOL) director Pasi Kemppainen said: "From a UK perspective the Department for Transport has recently started a consultation on autonomous vehicles/telematics and TISPOL will feed into them the additional complications and challenges regarding legislation and enforcement. It is, of course, for Governments to legislate appropriately to cater for such situations, and for police officers to enforce the law."

In a separate development on Monday, the 324 US Department of Transportation's 834 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed equipping all cars and light trucks with technology that could prevent collisions.

Location Based Systems

Related Content

  • ITS America, automakers respond to Rubio-Booker 5.9 GHz spectrum legislation
    June 23, 2014
    The Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) and US automakers have responded to the announcement on legislation introduced by US Senators Marco Rubio and Cory Booker that would set deadlines on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for developing and publishing a test plan for the use of unlicensed devices in the 5.9 GHz band. The senators introduced S. 2505, the Wi-Fi Innovation Act, legislation to expand unlicensed spectrum use by requiring the Federal Communications Commissio
    Read More
  • California grants Uber driverless car permit, releases autonomous vehicle regulations
    March 13, 2017
    The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has issued Uber with another permit to put its driverless cars back on the state’s roads, according to Reuters. Obtaining the permit also marks a concession for Uber, which had fought California regulators over the requirement and initially refused to apply for the US$150 permit. Following a disagreement with regulators last December when Uber argued that its cars do not meet the state's definition of an autonomous vehicle because they require constant mo
    Read More
  • Data protection - a road-block for driverless cars?
    May 27, 2016
    A new report by international law firm Gowling WLG warns that autonomous and connected vehicle manufacturers will need to get their head around new European data protection rules if driverless cars are to become a reality. Published just two years before Europe's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force, the report, Are you data driven? explores the latest issues in data protection and driverless vehicles and what they mean for consumers, featuring input from leading experts across the
    Read More
  • From coast to coast: US states embrace automated enforcement for safer roads, says Verra Mobility
    September 12, 2023
    The concept of Vision Zero has hit a pothole in the US – but there is hope for a safer future, says Jon Baldwin, executive vice president, government solutions, at Verra Mobility
    Read More

Highlighted Content