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Abort, abort! Metal-on-metal VIOLENCE as Google's robo-car nearly CRASHES

Turf dispute between auto autos turns into road rage incident

Before humanity's final battle against our erstwhile robotic minions, both man and tin must stifle dissent from within. Humanity has been murdering itself since time inconceivable, but now two "uncrashable" self-driving cars have almost come to blows in California.

Two self-driving car prototypes – one belonging to Google, and the other representing Delphi Automotive – almost had a prang on a road in Silicon Valley earlier this week, Reuters reported.

It is believed to be the first hint of a gangland clash between chauffeurbots, though they have already faced hostility from the analogue world.

John Absmeier, director of Delphi's Silicon Valley lab, told the news wire his harrowing tale of the events of Tuesday 23 June.

Absmeier, a global business director for Delphi's automated driving programme, was being driven as a passenger in one of the cars on San Atonio Road in Palo Alto at the time of the incident. He said his prototype was cut off by one of Google's self-driving cars.

Delphi's test vehicle was an Audi Q5 SUV – reportedly equipped with lasers, radar, cameras and the special computer software that apparently imbues the car with enough life to drive itself, with a human at the wheel as mere back-up.

Reuters quoted Absmeier as saying that "as the Delphi vehicle prepared to change lanes, a Google self-driving prototype – a Lexus RX400h crossover fitted with similar hardware and software – cut off the Audi, forcing it to abort the lane change".

The Delphi car "took appropriate action", according to Absmeier, and no collision took place.

With the heavy support in the roadwar of the machines having already rolled out in Nevada, the fear that a more deadly incident will occur soon has been heightened. ®

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