I think its a little naive to expect these cars not to be modified for a speed advantage. The same way I can get stuck behind a pickup that's clearly not giving the emissions from its factory settings due to its owner's modifications and most likely illegal ones but with very little political will to stop. Or how people speed nowadays without consequences.
Automated cars will have the same issues. We'll see a 3rd party mod and chip market immediately. "Go 20% over the limit" and "cut through alleys" and "aggressively pass and change lanes" or "ride the shoulder in heavy traffic" mods will be everywhere.
Heck, we're kinda there now. Recently Google maps asked me to use an alley as a through street, which I found a little off-putting. Alleys aren't designed for thru traffic, have cars and people backing in and out, have children playing basketball, etc.
Emissions is a problem that could go away with technology as well.
But speed advantage over other cars on the road is a mostly emotional desire that matters to human drivers. Cars with speed advantage are marketed as such right now. I do think that marketing will disappear when cars go driverless.
And don't forget we are in this case talking about people illegally speeding. You are not legally entitled to use your speed advantage to drive at twice the speed limit in a neighborhood with a school zone, even if there's a smoky pickup in front of you. And yet, if we don't put speed bumps in the way, some people will choose to do so anyway, putting others at risk. A kid in my neighborhood was killed just a couple of weeks ago by someone speeding, and there are several speed bumps near me that were installed immediately after children were hit.
Automated cars will have the same issues. We'll see a 3rd party mod and chip market immediately. "Go 20% over the limit" and "cut through alleys" and "aggressively pass and change lanes" or "ride the shoulder in heavy traffic" mods will be everywhere.
Heck, we're kinda there now. Recently Google maps asked me to use an alley as a through street, which I found a little off-putting. Alleys aren't designed for thru traffic, have cars and people backing in and out, have children playing basketball, etc.