A driverless car undergoing testing on British roads went on a ‘rampage’ and crashed itself into a nearby test centre after its systems went haywire, according to eyewitness reports.
The incident took place on a road near a driving test centre in Milton Keynes, where autonomous vehicles are currently being tested as part of the government’s multi-million pound investment.
One witness, 35-year old Miles Dyson, said: “I was just walking my dog when it was driving past, I never took any notice as it looked just like any other car.
No reported injuries
“All of a sudden it just stopped in its tracks when it got close to the centre, and then sort of turned itself around and went straight towards the front door.”
According to Mr Dyson, the car then sped up before smashing itself straight into the building’s foyer, narrowly missing several centre employees.
“I ran over to help but it was only when I got close that I realised there was no driver,” he said. “It’s strange that it went straight for the building. It was like it knew where to go. It was pretty scary.”
'It went on a rampage'
Anne Lewis, who was working in a shop opposite the centre, added: “We’d received a letter through the door a few weeks ago from the council saying they’d be testing on these roads, but I never took much notice of it. It just went on a rampage.”
Police confirmed the incident did involve a prototype driverless pod, and also noted that despite causing damage to the test centre and leaving bystanders severely shaken, nobody was injured.
Deputy chief constable Robert Patrick said: “There has been a significant amount of damage done to the front of the test centre, but luckily nobody was hurt.
Problem with computer clock blamed
“We’re working closely with witnesses and with the vehicle’s engineers to determine exactly what went wrong, but early analysis suggests that it was most likely a problem with its artificial intelligence software.”
Although some speculated that the car targeted the test centre in an attempt to 'wipe out' its human competition, engineers theorised that the problem stemmed from the computer's clock, which was accidentally set to 01:01 April 1st.
The policeman added: “While we’re aware of some people’s concerns, we’ve been reassured that driverless cars are, on a whole, safe and this was simply a case of one programme gone rogue”.
