--- description: Google is programming its self-driving cars to act more like humans on the road, which means driving more aggressively. title: Google's Self-Driving Cars Designed to Be More Aggressive image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0567e87e783cfdf4/698865edbc6cfc378a3d9a63/gettyimages-462675874.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Why Google Wants Its Self-Driving Cars to Drive More Like You by [Claire Groden / Fortune](/author/claire-groden/) ## Claire Groden / Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 29, 2015 1:01 PM CUT  Google's Chris Urmson (R) shows a Google self-driving car to U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx (L) and Google Chairman Eric Schmidt (C) at the Google headquarters on February 2, 2015 in Mountain View, California. Google's Chris Urmson (R) shows a Google self-driving car to U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx (L) and Google Chairman Eric Schmidt (C) at the Google headquarters on February 2, 2015 in Mountain View, California.Justin Sullivan—Getty Images by [Claire Groden / Fortune](/author/claire-groden/) ## Claire Groden / Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 29, 2015 1:01 PM CUT So much for the virtues of defensive driving. Google is designing its self-driving cars to operate more like human drivers on the road, according to the [Wall Street _Journal_](http://www.wsj.com/articles/google-tries-to-make-its-cars-drive-more-like-humans-1443463523 "undefined"). That means cutting corners, creeping at stop signs and pausing less frequently. Chris Urmson, Google’s lead on the driverless car project, said at a conference in July that the prototypes are “a little more cautious than they need to be,” according to the [_Journal_](http://www.wsj.com/articles/google-tries-to-make-its-cars-drive-more-like-humans-1443463523 "undefined"). In fact, 12 of the 16 minor accidents involving Google’s cars involved human drivers rear-ending the self-driving cars–possibly due to over-cautious robot driving. The Google cars were previously programmed to drive cautiously by coming to a complete stop at stop signs, braking at even minor threats, and never crossing a double yellow line. But these driving techniques all register as unnatural–even alarming–to humans, who have a more instinctual feel for the road. At a four-way intersection, for example, a car’s slow creep at a stop sign indicates to other cars the direction it intends to go. And since most drivers expect the other cars on the road to maintain a steady speed, human decisions to turn or pass could by stymied by an overly attentive automated car. Already, the Google cars have learned to edge over a double yellow line when parked cars or slow-moving mail trucks require that flexibility. And the company is baking other forms of human flexibility into the cars so they can deal with whatever unlikely event occurs on the road. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4053657/goolgle-self-driving-car-humans/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4053657/goolgle-self-driving-car-humans/"},"headline":"Why Google Wants Its Self-Driving Cars to Drive More Like You","datePublished":"2015-09-29T13:01:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:06:42.072Z","description":"Robotic drivers are too good","url":"https://time.com/4053657/goolgle-self-driving-car-humans/","keywords":["Tech","Google","Autos","pubdesk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0567e87e783cfdf4/698865edbc6cfc378a3d9a63/gettyimages-462675874.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Claire Groden / Fortune"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0567e87e783cfdf4/698865edbc6cfc378a3d9a63/gettyimages-462675874.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Transportation Sec'y Foxx Discusses Future Transportation Trends With Google CEO","caption":"Transportation Sec'y Foxx Discusses Future Transportation Trends With Google CEO","creditText":"Justin Sullivan—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4053657/goolgle-self-driving-car-humans/","name":"Why Google Wants Its Self-Driving Cars to Drive More Like You"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Driverless Cars: The Future of Driving","description":"Predictions about a future in which cars that will drive themselves have been staples of everything from science fiction to pop culture to corporate PR for decades. 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