(本文选自《经济学人》20210403期)
背景介绍：
近日，美国国家安全委员会（一个长期致力于公共和职业安全的非营利组织）发布了一份有关美国交通事故情况的最新报告。基于美国疾病预防控制中心收集的死亡率数据，2020年美国约有42060人死于交通事故。这一数字比2019年估计的39107例高出了8%，而令人意外的是，相比2019年，去年美国的总行驶里程下降了13%。
Americans are driving less, but more are dying in accidents
In theory, one silver lining of the covid-19 pandemic should have been a decline in other types of death. As people spend more time at home, they drive less so are less likely to die in car accidents.
从理论上讲，在新冠肺炎疫情肆虐下，其他类型死亡人数应该有所减少。随着人们呆在家中的时间越来越长，他们开车的时间也越来越少，因此死于车祸的可能性也应该越来越小。
Data from the United States back up the first link in this chain: Americans drove 13% fewer miles in 2020 than in 2019. However, less driving has not led to fewer deaths.
来自美国的数据证实了这一关系链中的第一个环节：2020年美国人的驾驶总里程比2019年减少了13%。然而，少开车并没有使车祸死亡人数减少。
Official totals are not yet available, but a statistical model from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) finds that deaths in the nine months to September 2020 increased by 5% year-on-year.
官方的统计数据尚未公布，但美国国家公路交通安全管理局（NHTSA）的统计模型显示，在截至2020年9月的9个月里，车祸死亡人数同比增加了5%。
Similarly, the National Safety Council, a non-profit, reckons that fatalities on roads rose by 8% in 2020. This implies that fatalities per mile driven rose by 24%, the biggest increase since 1924.
同样地，非营利性组织国家安全委员会估计，2020年美国道路交通事故死亡人数增加了8%，这意味着每英里行程的死亡人数增加了24%，达到自1924年以来的最大增幅。
Why are more people dying if fewer cars are on the road? Although nationwide data lack detail, California publishes granular numbers on crashes and deaths. Drivers in America’s most populous state have not become more accident-prone: collisions fell by 24%, more than miles driven (13%).
为什么路上的车越来越少了，而车祸死亡人数却越来越多了？虽然尚缺乏详实的全国性数据，但加州公布了有关交通事故及死亡人数的详细数据。在美国人口最多的加州，交通事故并没有增多：车祸数量减少了24%，比行驶里程的减少量要多（13%）。
Instead, the crashes that did occur were unusually deadly, causing death 19% more often than in 2019. One factor is less use of seat belts: even as collisions declined overall, the absolute number where officers recorded unfastened seat belts rose by 5%.
不过，2020年的那些车祸事故着实惨烈，致死人数相比2019年增加了19%。其中一个重要因素是很多人没系安全带：尽管总体来说车祸减少了，但车祸中未系安全带的人员数量却增加了5%。
Another is an increase in the severity of crashes where reckless behaviour—such as alcohol or drug use, speeding or running red lights—was cited as a factor. Although the number of such collisions fell in line with the statewide average, the share that led to death rose by 23%, a greater increase than in other types of crashes.
另一个因素是，因诸如酗酒、吸毒、超速或闯红灯之类的鲁莽行为而导致车祸的严重程度有所增加。虽然此类事故的数量与全州平均水平持平，但导致死亡的比例却增加了23%，相比其他类型的事故增幅更大。
The causes of a rise in risky driving are unclear, but responses to covid-19 probably contributed. Americans have been drinking more alcohol, and
bingeing
more often.
危险驾驶行为增多的原因尚不清楚，但人们对新冠肺炎的反应可能是原因之一。美国人喝的酒越来越多，而酗酒更是常事。
Speeding is now more common: the number of tickets for going over 100 miles (161km) per hour doubled in California and Iowa, and the NHTSA reports that speeds in a number of cities rose by 22%. Reductions in
congestion
and in law enforcement may have
emboldened
lead-footed drivers.
如今，超速驾驶的现象更普遍了：在加州和爱荷华州，时速超过100英里（约合161公里）的罚单数量增加了一倍，NHTSA 报告称，一些城市的平均车速提高了22%。交通堵塞的缓解以及执法力度的减轻可能让那些爱开快车的司机更加大胆了。
In California rural areas, where roads are less crowded, account for a
disproportionately
high share of traffic fatalities. However, the gap in death rates between these areas and cities shrank in 2020. This suggests that as urban roads emptied out, drivers started treating them more like rural ones, and stepped on the accelerator.
在加州的乡村地区，道路没那么拥挤，车祸致死的比例尤其高。然而，到2020年，加州农村地区与城市地区车祸致死率的差距缩小了。这表明，随着城市道路变得通畅，司机们加大了油门，就像他们在农村道路上那样开车。
(红色标注词为重难点词汇)
本文翻译：Vinnie
校核：Vinnie
编辑：Vinnie
去年，在新冠肺炎疫情肆虐的美国，人们的出行和社交活动受到了一定限制，因而开车的人少了一些，总行驶里程相比2019年下降了13%。然而，令人惊讶的是，去年美国因交通事故致死的人数却有所增加。究其原因，一方面，许多人不爱系安全带，另一方面，随着道路变得通畅，许多人开起了快车。
binge
[bɪndʒ] n. 狂欢 v. 放纵
congestion
[kənˈdʒestʃən] n. 拥挤；拥塞；淤血
embolden
[ɪmˈboʊldən] v. 有胆量；鼓励
