VOA标准英语2010-Half of People Killed on Roads are Not in

According to a new study, alcohol and speed contribute to injuries for the vulnerable road user.

Related Links:
Full article

Half of all people killed each year on the world's highways - more than 600,000 people - are not in cars.

They're pedestrians¹, bicyclists and motorcyclists. They're called vulnerable road users.

Dr. Emmanual Legard, an injury researcher at the University of Bordeaux in France, explains that they are called that because, unlike occupants of cars, they are not protected by an outside steel frame that would shield them in case of a road traffic accident. So, when a car or truck hits them, they are more likely to be injured or killed.

In Thailand, Legard notes, more than 70 percent of the road traffic deaths are among motorbike users. In Delhi, India, 42 percent of traffic deaths are vulnerable road users.

"This is a problem for the poorer countries because most of the road users are vulnerable road users because cars are much more expensive than bicycles," says Legard.

Problem not limited to developing countries

But in industrialized, richer countries, the numbers of injuries to vulnerable road users are increasing, too. In France, for example, between 1997 and 2007, the proportion of road traffic fatalities² for car occupants decreased by 16 percent while it increased by 25 percent among vulnerable road users.

But these official numbers may actually understate the problem.

"The data on vulnerable road users - mortality and morbidity³ - is underestimated in many countries, including the United States," Legard says, explaining that police do not always count crashes between cars and pedestrians or bicycles as traffic injuries.

According to Legard, alcohol and speed contribute to injuries for the vulnerable road user, but their lack of visibility is also an important factor. Besides increasing visibility by wearing bright clothing and having stricter efforts to reduce drunk driving and decrease speed, another strategy to prevent injuries is through education.

"The vulnerable road user does not obey the traffic rules," he says. "They should be informed of the high traffic injury rates and not be exempt⁴ from obeying the traffic laws."

Emmanual Legard's paper appeared on line in the journal PLoS Medicine.
 

1 pedestrians   

n.步行者( pedestrian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Several pedestrians had come to grief on the icy pavement. 几个行人在结冰的人行道上滑倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Pedestrians keep to the sidewalk [footpath]! 行人走便道。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 fatalities   

n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运

参考例句：

• Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤，但没有人死亡。
• The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 morbidity   

n.病态；不健全；发病；发病率

参考例句：

• MC's also significantly reduce the morbidity and mortality induced by honeybee venom. 肥大细胞同样也能显著降低蜜蜂毒液诱发疾病的发病率和死亡率。 来自互联网
• The result shows that incidence of myopia morbidity is 44.84%. 结果表明：近视眼的发病率为44.84%。 来自互联网

4 exempt   

adj.免除的；v.使免除；n.免税者，被免除义务者

参考例句：

• These goods are exempt from customs duties.这些货物免征关税。
• He is exempt from punishment about this thing.关于此事对他已免于处分。