美国国家公共电台 NPR As E-Scooters Roll Into American Cities, So Do Safety Concerns

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

If you step on the sidewalk outside the NPR headquarters, you may have to be careful not to trip over an electric scooter sitting there, waiting for the next rider. Companies have deployed¹ scooters from Washington, D.C., to Milwaukee, Wis., to Lubbock, Texas. People download a phone app and use it to pay. Just one question. How safe are they to ride? Deena Prichep reports.

DEENA PRICHEP, BYLINE²: Portland, Ore., is in the middle of a four-month scooter pilot program. You see them everywhere - parked on sidewalks, taking fast corners, zipping through traffic. But one thing you don't see much of - helmets.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Oh, yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Don't tell them.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Don't tell. I won't give you my real name (laughter).

PRICHEP: That's because she's not wearing a helmet, nor are any of her friends. The city of Portland and the scooter companies both require them, and with some good reason. Scooters aren't bikes. They accelerate without you pedaling and take some getting used to for both riders and cars.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: One of our friends almost just got run over. The brake lights on theirs don't work, you know (laughter)?

CATHERINE JUILLARD: We've seen things from broken bones to punctured³ lungs, shattered pelvis.

PRICHEP: Catherine Juillard is a trauma⁴ surgeon at Zuckerberg San Francisco General and an assistant professor at UCSF. California has welcomed these scooters, even changing the law so riders don't have to wear helmets, whereas other places like the city of Seattle are concerned enough about injuries that they're not allowing them at all.

JUILLARD: When they enter the sector⁵ of transportation, that's also entering the sector of public health. So it becomes a different ballgame, and we need to make sure that we're doing it safely.

PRICHEP: In San Francisco, Juillard is part of the city's injury prevention collaborative, which is collecting data on e-scooter injuries. Are they happening at particular intersections⁶? Are people fracturing skulls⁷ or spraining⁸ ankles? Or are some types of scooters more dangerous than others?

JUILLARD: So you have to look at the patterns to see where the trends are and where the low-hanging fruit are.

PRICHEP: As a trauma surgeon, Juillard has seen the dangers. But she also sees the potential because San Francisco is a city dealing⁹ with a lot of car traffic. And so is Portland.

JOHN BRADY: We're going to have many more thousands of jobs, many more thousands of residents. We're not going to be building many more thousands of streets.

PRICHEP: John Brady is the spokesperson for Portland's Bureau of Transportation. To continue to have a city that works, that moves, they want to welcome innovation. Knowing you can just hop¹⁰ on a scooter for a few bucks¹¹ might encourage more people to leave their cars at home. But Portland wants to make sure these innovations meet all of the city's transportation goals - moving people efficiently¹², cutting emissions¹³ and making each trip as safe as possible.

BRADY: If at the same time we're seeing a rise in injuries but we also see that people are getting out of their car and potentially helping¹⁴ to relieve congestion¹⁵, you know, is that a tradeoff from a public agency standpoint that we think is a good one? I don't know. And we don't know yet.

PRICHEP: Portland of course does not want a rise in injuries. They're handing out free helmets and doing a public education campaign. But you only have to look at the scooters going by to see that this is a big change. Cars and scooters are still learning how to be around each other. And not many people are wearing helmets. Cities and physicians will get a better sense of scooter dangers as the data come in over the next few months. In the meanwhile, scoot safely, or you could always walk. For NPR News, I'm Deena Prichep in Portland, Ore.

1 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 punctured   

v.在（某物）上穿孔( puncture的过去式和过去分词 )；刺穿（某物）；削弱（某人的傲气、信心等）；泄某人的气

参考例句：

• Some glass on the road punctured my new tyre. 路上的玻璃刺破了我的新轮胎。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A nail on the road punctured the tyre. 路上的钉子把车胎戳穿了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• 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。

5 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

6 intersections   

n.横断( intersection的名词复数 )；交叉；交叉点；交集

参考例句：

• Traffic lights have been placed at all major intersections. 所有重要的交叉路口都安装了交通信号灯。
• Intersections are of the greatest importance in highway design. 在道路设计中，交叉口占有最重要的地位。 来自辞典例句

7 skulls   

颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜

参考例句：

• One of the women's skulls found exceeds in capacity that of the average man of today. 现已发现的女性颅骨中，其中有一个的脑容量超过了今天的普通男子。
• We could make a whole plain white with skulls in the moonlight! 我们便能令月光下的平原变白，遍布白色的骷髅！

8 spraining   

扭伤（关节）( sprain的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• In regions with certain isolates of TRV, spraining is more prominent. 在具有TRV某些分离物的地区，坏死是比较显著的。
• Stir the switch on the left foot in ON end, push and press spraining. 把左脚上的开关拨动ON端，按下按扭。

9 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

10 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

11 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。

13 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

14 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

15 congestion   

n.阻塞，消化不良

参考例句：

• The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
• Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。