The severity of the laboratory test was equivalent to an oblique collision with the rocky surface of the Earth - a comet coming in at an angle of less than 25 degrees from the horizon, rather than head on (perpendicular to the Earth's surface).

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This software mastered the tricks of collision-avoidance in a series of desert test runs conducted before the race started.

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Jones, of Carr Drive in Wesham, had passed her driving test four months before the collision.

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But was injured after a collision with Botha and the South African missed Saturday's final Test defeat to the Lions in Johannesburg after being banned for two weeks for his dangerous charge on Jones.

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