Very cool article, and interesting simulation. I was able to get considerably higher average speed (i.e., fewer average stops) by removing the bit about randomly stopping when approaching an intersection, and instead allowing all the cars approaching the same intersection to randomly select a winner between them. It’s no doubt the only solution, but it means that a car doesn’t have to randomly stop at a clear intersection =)

I think a potential downside to this type of model is that it relies on cooperation and good faith. Anyone could program a car to simply ignore the other cars on the road and plow headlong through an intersection. They’re autonomous, so there’s no need to have a passenger inside the kamikaze car. I suppose that’s no different than our current world, but compared to the alternative world of AI cars which can (theoretically) drive defensively, there may be a hazard there.