一份研究報告顯示，美國每年有5000多人死于開車發短信和打電話，而20歲以下的駕車者尤其容易在開車時分神。2009年一份針對大型車輛及卡車駕車者的研究報告指出，開車發短信引發撞車的風險是專心駕駛狀態下的23倍。研究人員表示，駕車者開車發短信時，平均每條短信有4.6秒的時間是不看路的，按照每小時車速55英里來計算，相當于一個足球場那么長的距離都是駕車者看著手機在行駛的。而開車打手機同樣也有風險，因為駕車者在通話的時候腦子里會想象通話對方的樣子，分神自然在所難免。除此之外，現在車內安裝的網絡瀏覽器和GPS定位儀等高科技設備看似是為車輛行駛安全才增裝的，但其實也有讓駕車者分神的嫌疑。

Texting and talking on cell phones behind the wheel kills more than 5,000 people every year on US highways.

Texting and talking on cell phones behind the wheel kills more than 5,000 people every year on US highways. Teen drivers seem to be especially susceptible to distraction, a study says.

A 2009 study focusing on drivers of larger vehicles and trucks has concluded that texting raised the risk of a crash by 23 times compared with non-distracted driving, says an environmental report.

Environmental researcher Uvid Hosansky, who authored the report for the journal CQ Researcher, wrote, "Texting drivers took their eyes off the road for each text an average of 4.6 seconds, which at 55 mph means they were driving the length of a football field without looking."

Talking on a cell phone is also dangerous. "Experts say that talking on a cell phone while driving is far more distracting than talking with an adult passenger because it consumes additional cognitive resources, including creating a mental picture of the person on the other end of the conversation," added Hosansky, who was twice nominated for Pulitzer Prize.

The National Highway Traffic Safety -Administration, US, estimated that 16 percent of all drivers younger than 20 years old involved in fatal crashes were believed to be distracted, "the highest proportion of any age group," by texting and mobile phone use, reports the journal CQ Researcher.

"Although some people may think they can safely talk and drive, researchers who observe people in driving simulators as well as in actual cars on the road find that a cell phone conversation will invariably intrude on a driver's attentiveness," said Hosansky.

"The distractions don't stop with cell phones. Car makers are adding new technologies to the dashboard, such as Web browsers and GPS units. Car makers say that such technologies are designed very carefully for safety, but safety advocates worry that they are creating even more hazardous driving conditions," Hosansky concluded.

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(Agencies)

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）