Google’s driverless cars are programmed to break the speed limit by up to 10mph according to the lead software engineer.
Dmitri Dolgov told Reuters that when surrounding vehicles are breaking the speed limit, it is sometimes safer to speed and so, the Google car would accelerate to keep up.
The UK is set to allow driverless cars on public roads from 2015. Ministers have ordered a review of the UK’s road regulations to accomodate the new cars.
The review will ensure that the vehicles comply with safety and traffic laws and will involve changes to the Highway Code.
Commenting on Google self-drive cars’ ability to exceed the speed limit, a Department for Transport spokesman said: “There are no plans to change speed limits, which will still apply to driverless cars”.
The project has been widey tested in the US since Google announced its driverless car project in 2010. The cars have travelled more than 300,000 miles of open road, mostly in California.