1、 翻译评论 QQ 群：54592418牛斯狗评论 系列双语读物Dont Worry, the Robots Driving甭担心，机器人在开车Last month the Highway Loss Data Institute, a research organization funded by the auto insurance industry, put out a study claiming that automotive texting bans dont work. Thirty states and the District of Columbia prohibit texti
2、ng while driving, and eight of them, plus D.C., also require hands-free devices for use with cell phones. But in four states that the HLDI examinedCalifornia, Louisiana, Minnesota, and Washingtonpassage of texting bans did not seem to reduce the rate of accidents.上个月，美国公路损失数据协会（由汽车保险行业资助的研究组织）公布一项研究
3、称，禁止汽车短信的规定不起作用。三十个州和哥伦比亚特区禁止开车时发短信，其中八个州（加上特区）还要求在用手机时，使用免提装置。但是，在美国公路损失数据协会检查的四个州（加利福尼亚州、路易斯安那州、明尼苏达州和华盛顿）中，短信禁令似乎未能减少交通事故发生率。In Slate, James Ledbetter took issue with the study. He pointed out that researchers hadnt taken into account the huge rise in texting; even if the texting bans didnt reduc
4、e accidents, they may well be keeping accident rates steady, because even more people would be fiddling with their phones if we didnt have these laws. I dont quite buy Ledbetters thesis, because HLDIs study also showed that accident patterns in states with texting bans looked similar to those of nea
5、rby states that hadnt banned texting. (If Ledbetter were right, wed have seen an increase in crashes in states without bans.) But even if you believe the laws are working now, they cant hold off the driving 翻译评论 QQ 群：54592418牛斯狗评论 系列双语读物texters forever. More people buy smartphones every year, and ca
6、rmakers keep adding new and better ways for us to connect those devices to our cars.在石板路杂志中，詹姆斯莱德贝特曾对这一研究发表不同看法。他指出，研究人员并未将短信量大幅上升的因素考虑在内；即便短信禁令不能减少事故，仍可能使事故率保持稳定，因为即使没有这些法律，还是会有更多人摆弄手机。我不太赞同莱德贝特的论调，因为美国公路损失数据协会的研究还表明，短信禁令州的事故模式，与没有短信禁令的州相似。 （如果莱德贝特是正确的，我们应该看到短信禁令州的事故频发。 ）但是，即使你相信法律是起作用的，它们仍无法永远禁止人们
7、在开车时发短信。每年都有更多人购买智能手机，汽车制造商不断增加新的、更好的方法，将这些装置连接到汽车上。Texting bans are based on what would seem to be a common-sensical idea about the dangers of modern technology and carsthat tech and driving dont mix. Drivers need to focus on the road, and Internet-enabled cell phones, music players, and GPS device
8、s are causing us to lose focus. Until now, society has decided that the way to fix the problem is to legislate concentrationto force us to ditch our devices as a means to keep our eyes, our ears, and our fingers fixed to the road. But what if thats the wrong approach? If we want to make our cars saf
9、er, perhaps we shouldnt discourage tech from entering the cabin. Instead, we should embrace it. 短信禁令基于公众对现代科技和汽车双重危险的普遍观点，即科技和驾驶不能相容。司机必须将注意力放在道路上，具备上网功能的手机、音乐播放器和 GPS 设备会分散注意力。到现在为止，社会已经找到了问题的解决之道，就是对注意力立法，即强迫我们丢弃设备，以便将眼睛、耳朵和手指固定在道路上。但是，如果这种方法是错误的，又该怎么办？如果我们想让汽车更加安全，也许不应该鼓励科技进入车厢。恰恰相反，我们应该接受这个现实。On
10、 Sunday, the New York Times reported that Google is building a car that can drive itself. The search companys small fleet of self-driving carsguided by roof-mounted sensors and a battalion of cloud-connected 翻译评论 QQ 群：54592418牛斯狗评论 系列双语读物servershas driven more than 140,000 miles with minimal human i
11、ntervention. The cars can obey traffic signs, merge on to the freeway, and avoid pedestrians and bicyclists. I was stunned by the news; two years ago, I interviewed several auto-safety engineers about the potential for self-driving cars, and they all told me that the technology was decades away. Goo
12、gle told the Times that its cars are still an experiment, and the company hasnt decided to turn the tech into a commercial product. The tech still has kinksGoogles cars dont know how to obey traffic cops hand signals, for instance. Still, self-driving automobiles appear to be on the way to revolutio
13、nizing modern transportation. Googles technology could make cars safer, more efficient, and a lot more pleasant.上周日纽约时报报道，谷歌正在建造能自行驱动的汽车。这家搜索公司的小型自动驾驶车队在屋顶传感器和云连接服务器群的引导下，在最少的人员干预下，已经行驶超过 14 万英里。 这些汽车会遵守交通标志、在高速公路上并道、避开行人和骑车人。这条消息令我震惊；两年前，我曾就自动驾驶汽车的潜力采访过几位汽车安全工程师，他们都告诉我说，这项科技的出现尚需几十年。谷歌告诉纽约时报 ，它的汽车仍
14、处于试验阶段，技术上仍有缺陷，例如谷歌的汽车不会遵守交警的手势信号。尽管如此，自动驾驶汽车似乎正在革新现代运输方式。谷歌的技术可以使汽车更安全、更高效，也更为舒适。Indeed, its fascinating to think about how automated driving will change how we spend our time in the car. Americans squander nearly an hour each workday commuting. Thats exactly why legislating concentration seems lik
15、e a futile approach. Working from the road has become a hallmark of the American economywere all being pressed to be more productive, and the many hours each week were trapped in our cars seem like the perfect time to get something done. Many industries (like freight companies and plumbing outfits)
16、require workers to be tied in to the central office using onboard computers, and even office workers feel the push to stay connected while on the road. Whats more, research suggests that while both teenagers and adults (PDF) know the dangers of texting while driving, were all overconfident about our
17、 own abilities to multitask on the roadyou think 翻译评论 QQ 群：54592418牛斯狗评论 系列双语读物its dangerous for me to look at my phone while Im driving, but youre pretty sure you can handle it. (And texting laws are so spottily enforced that youre pretty sure that you can get away with it, too.)事实上，只要想想自动驾驶将改变我们在车
18、中打发时间的方式，就令人心驰神往。美国人每天的上下班通勤时间将近一小时。这正是注意力立法形同虚设的确切原因。工作在路上已经成为美国经济的标志，我们都被迫更富有生产效率，每周我们被困在车里的数小时看起来似乎是做事情的完美时刻。一些行业（如货运和管道维修公司）要求工人使用车载电脑，时刻与中央办公室连通，甚至办公室人员也被迫在途中保持连线。更有甚者，研究显示，尽管青少年和成年人了解驾驶中发短信的危害，我们仍对自己在路上执行多重任务的能力过于自信，你觉得我一边开车一边看手机很危险，但你认为自己没问题。 （而且短信禁令管得太宽，你肯定自己完全可以不予理会。 ）Rather than trying to
19、eliminate distraction, the Google approach aims to do something that could prove much simpler and more effective: make distraction less dangerous. The problem with texting while driving is that were not cognitively equipped to do both tasks at the same time. But why should driving be so cognitively
20、onerous in the first place? We already rely on computers to handle a lot driving hasslesyour cell phone can map out your route before you leave, it can find nearby gas stations, it can give you turn-by-turn directions, it can show you which roads are jammed, and it can even intelligently select some
21、 tunes you might like to hear along the way. Your car is also no tech slouch; modern vehicles use software to manage much of the driving experience, including the brakes and the steering. Given how steadily computers have invaded every part of the driving experience, it doesnt seem like a big leap f
22、or them to take over the wheel. That would free us up to handle much more intrinsically human tasks, like looking up movie show times. Perhaps this explains Googles motivation for looking into robotic cars: If youre not driving, youll have much more time to surf the Web.与试图消除分神的方式不同，谷歌旨在证明一些更简单、更有效的
23、做法：使分散注意力的危险降低。驾驶时发短信的问题在于，我们天生翻译评论 QQ 群：54592418牛斯狗评论 系列双语读物不能兼顾两件事情。但是，为什么先要将注意力集中在开车上？我们已经能够依靠电脑处理很多驾驶中的麻烦，比如你的手机能在上路前选定路线，发现附近的加油站，提供建议路线规划指示，显示哪条路线塞车，甚至可以智能地选择在途中你可能想听的音乐。你的车聪明伶俐；现代车用软件能掌握很多驾驶经验，包括刹车和操作方向盘。鉴于电脑已经稳步入侵到驾驶经验的每一部分，驾驶方向盘似乎无需技术上的大飞跃。这将使人们得到解放，可以去处理更为人性化的任务，比如查看电影放映时刻表。也许这可以解释谷歌研制机器人汽
24、车的动机：如果不开车，你将有更多的时间在网上冲浪。Of course, robot cars arent an immediate solution to the problem of distracted driving. Over the next few years, long before production-ready vehicles can drive themselves, well continue to see upticks in the use of dangerous gadgets behind the wheel. But robotic autos could
25、 be closer than you think. Many automakers are already selling cars that take over the wheel in specific circumstances. Autonomous cruise control systems found in some luxury cars can automatically maintain a safe following distance, and some systems alert you when youre about to drift out of a lane
26、 or hit the car in front of you. There are also several cars that can automatically steer you into a parallel parking spot.当然，机器人汽车无法立即为开车分神问题提供解决方案。接下来的几年里，在自动驾驶汽车投入生产之前，我们仍将看到在方向盘后面使用小物件所造成的事故上升。但是，机器人汽车的出现可能快于你的想象。许多汽车制造商正在销售在特定情况下自动驾驶的汽车。豪华汽车中的自主巡航控制系统能自动保持安全的跟随距离，一些系统会在你驶出马路或撞上前方车辆时发出警报。还有一些汽车能
27、自动引导你驶入平行停车位。These technologies point to the future of driving. Today, its tempting to reach for your phone when youre stuck in trafficbut by all means, dont do it. But just wait a little while longer. Some day soon, texting will be pretty much the only interesting thing to do on your way to work.翻译评论 QQ 群：54592418牛斯狗评论 系列双语读物这些技术预示着驾驶的未来。今天，当人们遭遇塞车时，很容易会拿起手机，但是，无论如何不要这样做。只要稍等一小会儿。 在不久的将来，发短信会成为上班途中能做的唯一趣事。
