One thing that always worried me about self-driving cars - what about an emergency? For example, hypothetically, if my wife was giving birth and I needed to rush to the hospital, would I have to poke along at 50km/h and hope to get there on time? There are times when it's perfectly justified to break the speed limit (other examples: outrunning natural disasters, going to visit a dying relative, and so on).
You call an ambulance, that has an overclocked version of the self-driving chip :).
I don't see the self-driving car as a completely different car than a normal one - maybe more like an expensive option (with all the sensors, data and stuff it will be expensive) for a normal car, that can give you back the control when you want it.
No it is not perfectly justified to break the speed limit if you are going to visit a dying relative. That's ridiculous. Think about it. If I was going to visit a dying relative (who you have never met) would you be happy for me to drive at 100mph along the street where you live?
A self-driving car would be handy in situations where you are alone and injured, with the capacity to get to your car but not to drive safely. Severe illness, power tool accident, bear attack on a camping trip. You just get in your car and say, "Take me to the emergency room." It would actually be faster than an ambulance that had to make a round trip.
Also, pretty much the last person we (as a society) want speeding is a tired, stressed, freaking-out, distracted, soon-to-be-husband.
