交通事故已成青少年的"头号杀手"（在线收听）

AS IT IS 2015-10-24 No. 1 Killer Among Youth? Traffic Accidents 交通事故已成青少年的"头号杀手"

Road traffic crashes kill 1.25 million people each year worldwide.

全球每年死于道路交通事故的人数高达125万。

But the World Health Organization (WHO) says they are preventable.

但世界卫生组织（WHO）表示这些事故是可以预防的。

The report surveyed 180 countries, and it shows the number of annual deaths from traffic crashes is stabilizing. And that is good news as the number of motor vehicles grows worldwide.

在对180个国家进行调查后，报道显示每年因交通事故丧生的人数呈稳定趋势。鉴于全球机动车辆日益增长的情况，这也是个好消息。

But the data also show that road crashes are the No. 1 cause of death among young people aged 15 to 29.

然而该数据还指出，交通事故已成全球15岁到29岁青少年的“头号杀手”。

Young adults around the world are the worst driving risks. Even in the U.S., drivers aged 15 to 24 account for about 30 percent of all driving-related accidents.

全球的青少年都面临着一触即发的驾驶风险。即使是在美国，交通事故中15岁至24岁的驾驶员所占比例高达30%。

The WHO report also finds a big gap in road safety and deaths between poor and rich countries. Poor countries have only 54 percent of the world’s vehicles. But those countries have some of the worst safety statistics in the report.

该报告还表明，经济落后国家与经济发达国家的道路安全以及死亡人数存在着很大的差距。落后国家拥有的机动车辆占全球54%。但是这些国家的交通安全状况不容乐观。

“Africa has only two percent of the world’s vehicles, but has the highest death rate on the road." That is what Etienne Krug, the head of the WHO Department of Non-communicable Diseases, says.

“非洲的机动车辆虽只占全球机动车辆的2%，但因交通事故造成的死亡率却是最高的。”世界卫生组织非传染性疾病管理司的司长克拉格说道。

Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are leaders in preventing traffic deaths. The highest death rates are in Africa and the Middle East.

瑞典、荷兰以及英国在预防交通事故方面比较领先。而非洲以及中东地区的交通事故死亡率最高。

Stronger road safety laws and stricter vehicle safety requirements in developing countries would prevent many accidents.

发展中国家需完善道路安全相关法律以及制定更加严格的车辆安全要求，这样才能够有效预防交通事故的发生。

Legislation can quickly influence driving behavior. In only three years, 17 countries became safer by implementing tougher road safety laws.

法律可以在最短时间内规范驾驶行为。仅仅三年时间，就有17个国家因落实严格的道路安全法而有效减少了交通事故。

Some of those laws include banning drunk driving, requiring cyclists and motorcycle drivers to wear helmets and making safety belts mandatory in all vehicles.

法律中也包括禁止醉酒驾驶，并明确要求自行车以及摩托车的驾驶员佩戴头盔，而机动车辆的人员须系安全带。

There are other ways to make roads safer. Good trauma care after a crash can cut the number of deaths from road injuries in half.

此外，还有其他方法来提高道路的安全性。事故之后，进行完善的创伤救助能使死亡人数减半。

The statistics are part of the “Global Status Report on Road Safety 2015,” launched on Monday in Geneva.

这些数据出自周一在日内瓦发布的《2015年全球道路安全报告》。

Words in This Story

trauma – n. a serious injury to a person's body

helmet – n. a hard hat that is worn to protect your head

traffic – n. all the vehicles driving along a certain road or in a certain area