Self-driving cars in jam

THERE WAS plenty of road rage Tuesday, but it had little to do with driving.

City officials — whiplashed by news from Gov. Cuomo that self-driving cars would be taking test drives in lower Manhattan starting early next year — suggested it might be time to hit the brakes.

Mayor de Blasio’s spokesman said the city was never looped in on the discussion, and has safety concerns about the pilot program.

“Absent any details and without any coordination or consultation, our safety concerns will remain substantial,” said the rep, Eric Phillips.

Asked for specifics, he noted it’s a “computer being in charge of a 2-ton chunk of metal on crowded roads and crosswalks.”

Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi insisted the city was given a heads-up about the program two months ago.

“Now starts the permitting process with (the Department of Motor Vehicles), and I’m sure whatever concerns the city may have will be addressed,” Azzopardi said.

But City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito also told reporters she hadn’t heard about the General Motors program until Tuesday.

Beginning early next year, autonomous cars are slated to hit the city as part of a grueling road test through 5 square miles of lower Manhattan, Cuomo announced Tuesday.

State officials said the Department of Motor Vehicles and state police will work with GM and its autonomous car company, Cruise Automation, to make sure cars meet safety, insurance and vehicle requirements.

General Motors applied to be the first car maker to test drive a highly automated vehicle in the state, as part of a pilot program created to test these cars through April. The cars GM will bring to New York will be so-called Level 4 vehicles, which means it allows for human interaction on some driving tasks.

But in New York, GM’s autonomous cars will still have an engineer in the driver’s seat and a passenger riding shotgun to monitor and evaluate performance.

“Testing in New York will accelerate the timeline to deploying self-driving cars at scale,” said Kyle Vogt, CEO of Cruise Automation.

GM honcho Mary Barra with driverless car, which is set for April tests in Manhattan. However, City Hall said it was blindsided by plan touted by Gov. Cuomo.