新奇事件簿 欧盟计划为汽车限速（在线收听）

The European Union (EU) has a plan to stop cars speeding. It hopes to reduce the number of people who die in traffic accidents. Around 30,000 lives are lost each year on Europe's roads. The EU's project uses a technology called intelligent speed authority (ISA). This is a small digital box that is put inside the car. It costs about $380. The transport department said it could cut the number of road deaths by one-third by the year 2020. The system uses satellites that communicate with cars. There are two things that can happen. One is that the driver gets a warning about the speed limit. The other is that the technology automatically puts on the brakes and slows the car down to a safer speed.

欧盟计划为汽车限速。欧盟希望此举能够减少交通事故的死亡人数。在欧洲，每年大约会有3万人在交通事故中死亡。欧盟计划使用一款名叫“智能限速系统”的技术。该小型数码盒将配置在车内。售价大约为380美金。交通部门称到2020年，公路死亡人数将减少三分之一。这款使用卫星的系统能够与轿车相连接。该系统能够做两件事。第一件是，司机能够收到限速提醒。另一件是该技术将自动作用于刹车，并让汽车降至安全车速。

Not everyone is happy with this idea. Many people in Britain do not want the EU telling them how to drive. The British transport minister Patrick McLoughlin said it took away the freedom of motorists. British politicians believe the ISA system is unnecessary because the UK has fewer road deaths than other European countries. In 2012, 1,754 people died on British roads. This was down from 1,901 in 2011 and the lowest figure since records began in 1926. In Germany, there were 3,657 fatalities last year. A UK motoring organisation warned that ISA could be dangerous. It said: "If you were overtaking a tractor and suddenly needed to accelerate to avoid [crashing], you would not be able to."

不是所有人都欢欣鼓舞。许多英国民众不希望欧盟教授他们如何驾驶汽车。英国交通大臣帕特里克·麦克洛克林称这会让司机失去自由。英国政界人士认为英国的交通死亡人数少于其他欧洲国家，所以安装ISA系统没有必要。2012年，英国交通死亡人数为1926人。比2011年有所下降，为1901人，而这也是自1926年纪录以来的最低值。在德国，去年交通事故死亡人数为3657人。英国某汽车公司警告称ISA系统非常危险。称：“如果你想超过前面的拖车，而你需要突然加速而避免撞车，有了ISA你就无法做到这一点。”