VOA标准英语2010年-Distracted Driving Killing More Americ
时间:2019-01-13 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2010年(六)月
Car accidents are the number one killer 1 of teenagers in the United States.
Government data show that every year over 4,000 teens lose their lives in collisions that are caused mostly by "distracted drivng" - a term that includes everything from having too many noisy passengers, to using a cell phone while driving.
Now, a new bill introduced in the U.S. Congress seeks to reduce this disturbing trend.
Forever 15
Ryan Didone was a typical, fun-loving teenager. He liked sports, riding his dirt bike and spending time with his friends and family.
But all that changed in a matter of minutes in the fall of 2008. Ryan and four of his friends were riding in a car when
the driver lost control and hit a tree.
Courtesy Capt. Thomas Didone
Ryan Didone, age 15
The impact was so severe it caused major injuries to all the car's occupants. Ryan was flown to a nearby hospital, where he died a short time later. He was 15 years old.
Grieving father
Capt. Thomas Didone has been with the Montgomery County, Maryland, Police Department for almost 25 years. He is Ryan's father.
"I was with my son the day he was born and I, unfortunately, had to be with my son in the hospital on the day he died. And that's something that I would never wish on any parent."
The irony 3 of this tragic 4 story is that Didone spent many years of his life teaching teenagers and their families about safe driving.
That his own son would one day lose his life in a car accident is something the police captain has had a hard time grappling with.
"I thought because I'd been working on teen safety for over 10 years and advocating that parents had to do more to make sure their kids were safe, to communicate with their kids to make sure their kids understood the situation, that it would never happen to me," he says.
Courtesy Capt. Thomas Didone
The aftermath of the accident that killed 15-year-old Ryan Didone.
Distracted driving nightmare
Didone says the crash that took his son's life was a direct result of distracted driving.
"It was an inexperienced, immature 5 driver who felt that he was invincible 6; driving at night with a car load of kids. He was distracted, he was going too fast, and it ended up causing one death and serious trauma 7 and tragedy for the rest of the community."
Ryan's story is all too familiar. According to government estimates, of the more than 30,000 U.S. highway deaths reported in 2008, about 12 percent involved drivers between the ages of 15 and 20. Most of those fatalities 8 were the result of distracted driving.
Jim Jennings, a spokesperson for Allstate Insurance Company, says the number one cause of distracted-driving accidents is cell phones.
"If you're texting while driving, you are 23 times more likely to get into an accident than somebody who isn't," he says. "Reaching for a cell phone when it's going off, you're nine times more likely to get into an accident than normally driving."
Jennings says talking on the phone and reaching for a cell phone "is akin 9 to having four beers and driving."
Ray LaHood, Secretary of the U. S. Department of Transportation, says distracted driving is a critical problem.
"I've called it an epidemic in America because just about every American, including many teens, own cell phones and they think they can talk and drive and do it safely, and they can't," he says.
To counteract 11 this disturbing trend, government agencies and private companies are using public service announcements and safety events to raise awareness 12.
At a recent driving event near Washington, D.C., teenage drivers tested their driving skills on a closely-monitored obstacle course comparing how they drove with - and without - distraction 13.
Orange cones 14 on the track represented curves in the road. And testers threw large, inflatable dolls - representing children - in front of the cars at random 15 mements to test the driver's reaction time.
Fran Hapke
Kevin Schumann, 19, tests his driving skills - with and without distractions 16 - on an obstacle course in Washington, DC.
Sobering experience
Kevin Schumann, 19, was one of the drivers. First, he drove without a cell phone, and was able to easily navigate 17 around the cones and dolls.
But then he was given a cell phone and asked to start texting.
Almost immediately, his driving pattern started to change. Kevin drove erratically 18, knocked down several cones, and ran over at least one of the inflatable dolls.
Kevin found the experience to be eye-opening.
"With talking on the phone you at least are able to keep your eyes on the road, but [with] texting you have to take your eyes off the road and that makes you lose sight of anything," he says.
Knocking down the cones and hitting the makeshift kids said Kevin, "really opened up the experience for me to prove how bad it is to text and drive."
Debbie Pickford, another Allstate representative present at the event, says there are a number of reasons why teens in particular are at risk.
"What we know from research on teen brain development, is that teens don't really have fully 19 developed brains until they're 25 years old," she says.
When you combine immature brain development and inexperience she says, "you get a much, much higher risk."
STAND UP Act
But things are starting to change.
New legislation that's been introduced in the U.S. Congress would require all states to implement 20 what's called a "Graduated Driver Licensing 21" (GDL) system.
Under such a program, young drivers are prohibited from nighttime driving, are limited to the number of passengers they can have in their cars at one time and will be ineligible 22 for a full driver's license 23 until they're 18 years old.
The program is designed to give teens a chance to build up their driving experience slowly, and over a longer period of time.
Courtesy Capt. Thomas Didone
Ryan's memorial marker at his high school
The legislation creating the new teen licensing program is now pending 2 in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
In the meantime, people like Capt. Didone are using their personal experiences to help educate teens and their families about the dangers of distracted driving. He travels the country, sharing his story with the hope that it may save other lives.
"I never thought I'd be one of those parents that got that phone call, but I was. So I recognize the fact that if it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone."
- Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
- The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。
- The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
- He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。
- She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
- In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。
- The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
- Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。
- Tony seemed very shallow and immature.托尼看起来好像很肤浅,不夠成熟。
- The birds were in immature plumage.这些鸟儿羽翅未全。
- This football team was once reputed to be invincible.这支足球队曾被誉为无敌的劲旅。
- The workers are invincible as long as they hold together.只要工人团结一致,他们就是不可战胜的。
- Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
- The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。
- Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤,但没有人死亡。
- The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- She painted flowers and birds pictures akin to those of earlier feminine painters.她画一些同早期女画家类似的花鸟画。
- Listening to his life story is akin to reading a good adventure novel.听他的人生故事犹如阅读一本精彩的冒险小说。
- That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
- The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。
- The doctor gave him some medicine to counteract the effect of the poison.医生给他些药解毒。
- Our work calls for mutual support.We shouldn't counteract each other's efforts.工作要互相支持,不要互相拆台。
- There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
- Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。
- Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注,不能有丝毫分神。
- Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。
- In the pines squirrels commonly chew off and drop entire cones. 松树上的松鼠通常咬掉和弄落整个球果。 来自辞典例句
- Many children would rather eat ice cream from cones than from dishes. 许多小孩喜欢吃蛋卷冰淇淋胜过盘装冰淇淋。 来自辞典例句
- The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
- On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查,发现肉变质了。
- I find it hard to work at home because there are too many distractions. 我发觉在家里工作很难,因为使人分心的事太多。
- There are too many distractions here to work properly. 这里叫人分心的事太多,使人无法好好工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
- Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。
- Police stopped him for driving erratically. 警察因其驾驶不循规则而把他拦下了。 来自辞典例句
- Magnetitite-bearing plugs are found erratically from the base of the Critical Zone. 含磁铁岩的岩栓不规则地分布于关键带的基底以上。 来自辞典例句
- The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
- They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
- Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划,除非你能完成这项计划。
- The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。
- A large part of state regulation consists of occupational licensing. 大部分州的管理涉及行业的特许批准。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
- That licensing procedures for projects would move faster. 这样的工程批准程序一定会加快。 来自辞典例句
- The new rules have made thousands more people ineligible for legal aid.新规定使另外数千人不符合接受法律援助的资格。
- The country had been declared ineligible for World Bank lending.这个国家已被宣布没有资格获得世界银行的贷款。