科学美国人60秒 “Textalyzer”瞄准致命的分心驾驶（在线收听）

Fifty years ago, British inventors made and marketed the first electronic “breathalyzer”. The alcohol gauge has become standard issue for U.S. law enforcement cracking down on drunk driving.

50年前，英国发明家发明并推销了第一台电子“酒精测试仪”。酒精测量仪现已成为美国执法部门打击酒后驾驶的标配。

In a sign of the times, U.S. police are now hoping to enlist the so-called “Textalyzer.” The device, in development by a company called Cellebrite, plugs into a driver’s smartphone and can tell police whether that person sent a text, e-mail or some other type of electronic message. Much of this information could be found by checking the device’s call log and messaging apps, but the Textalyzer aggregates all of that information in one place.

在当今时代背景下，美国警方希望能够征募使用“Textalyzer（文本分析仪）”。该设备由一家名为Cellebrite的公司开发。它可以接入司机的智能手机，以此来协助警方知晓此人在驾驶时是否发送了短信、电子邮件或其他类型的电子信息。通过检查该设备的呼叫记录和信息传递应用程序，就可以找到很多相关信息，但Textalyzer将所有这些信息都汇聚到了一个地方。

Sending or reading a text typically takes a driver’s eyes off the road for about five seconds. At 55 miles per hour, that's like driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The NHTSA reports that in 2015 nearly 3,500 people were killed, and 391,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving drivers who were talking on the phone or texting.

发送或阅读一条文本信息通常会让司机分神大约5秒钟。据美国国家公路交通安全管理局（NHTSA）的数据显示，假设以每小时55英里的速度行驶，这种行为就像是闭着眼睛开车行驶经过了一整个足球场。据NHTSA报道，2015年机动车事故导致近3500人死亡，39.1万人受伤，其中就包括司机打电话或发短信导致的事故。

But several open questions remain related to the Textalyzer. For one, it’s not clear how officers will access a device if it’s password protected. Textalyzer’s legality is also up for debate. In 2014 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that police officers cannot legally search a mobile phone for content created within the past 180 days without a warrant. Regardless, several states plan to test the device.

但关于Textalyzer，仍有几个悬而未决的问题。首先，尚不清楚在该设备受到密码保护的情况下，警察该如何对其进行访问。Textalyzer的合法性也有待讨论。2014年，美国最高法院裁定，在没有搜查令的情况下，警察无权审查手机上近180天的内容。尽管如此，美国仍有几个州计划对该设备进行测试使用。

Over the years all sorts of bad advice has been given to help people “beat” Breathalyzer tests. Let’s hope the only way people beat the Textalyzer is by keeping their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road.

多年来，人们给出各种各样的不良建议来帮助大家“战胜”酒精测试。希望人们击败Textalyzer的唯一方法是，把手放在方向盘上，眼睛注视道路。