Seeing a Google self-driving Lexus on the highway, I thought, “Will they ever be caught speeding?”

And if so caught, or involved in an accident, will the memory or configuration of the computer or GPS be admissible evidence?

Would that be an incentive for manufacturers to install a speed governor?

Would a sufficent fraction of speed-governed self-driving cars on a stretch of highway cause median non-robotic drivers to otherwise slow their pace?

Would the governor be a deterrance for rushed or thrill-seeking drivers1 from enabling the computer, wanting the freedom to exceed the legal speed limit?

With years of safety data, assuming any needed improvements in safety, suggesting that self-driving cars are safer at speed, would there then be a relaxation of the law thereby allowing robo-speeding, effectively penalizing human speeders? A side benefit would be higher vehicle densities (with greater road wear) per unit time.

Would that make the manual driving of a car seen as reckless as not wearing a seatbelt?

I, for one, welcome our new fast and furious overlords.

  1. Not me, officer. ↩