印度迎来了历史上的最好时刻（每日外刊0811-迄今为止世界上最致命的道路）

背景知识

印度的一些公路是全球车祸致死事故最高的。世界卫生组织的数据显示，每年印度的车祸死亡人数超过数十万人，印度最高法院曾称这个国家的公路为“巨型杀手”。又由于涉及机动车的法规薄弱陈旧、执法腐败、调查和审判拖沓，很多肇事者最终逍遥法外。

印度迎来了历史上的最好时刻（每日外刊0811-迄今为止世界上最致命的道路）(1)

正文阅读

India's roads are by far the deadliest in the world

印度的道路是迄今为止世界上最致命的道路

Every three and a half minutes, by the Indian government's reckoning, one of its citizens is killed in a traffic accident. That adds up to 150,000 people a year. But in all likelihood, the carnage is much worse: the World Health Organisation (WHO) thinks there are 300,000 traffic deaths in India a year—more than there are people in Barbados. That is not just a function of India's enormous population. China has roughly the same number of people, but its authorities count just 58,000 fatalities each year. In fact India, home to just 10% of the world's registered vehicles, accounts for 22% of traffic deaths, the world Bank estimates, using WHO data. It is a daily massacre, taking place in full public view but provoking little consternation.

根据印度政府的计算，每三分半钟就有一名公民在交通事故中死亡。这意味着每年有15万人死亡。但很可能，这场灾难要严重得多：世界卫生组织（WHO）认为印度每年有30万交通事故死亡，比巴巴多斯的人口还要多。这不仅仅是印度庞大的人口所决定的。中国拥有大致相同的人口数量，但官方统计的死亡人数仅为5.8万人。事实上，世界银行(world Bank)利用世卫组织的数据估计，印度的注册车辆仅占全球的10%，却造成了22%的交通死亡。这是一场每天都在发生的屠杀，在众目睽睽之下发生，却没有引起人们的惊愕。

It is no secret that India's roads are mayhem. Drivers ignore lane markings; traffic lights are considered merely advisory; pedestrians weave through fast-moving traffic and the main safety measure is the unremitting blasting of the horn. Nor is it just cars. Overloaded lorries, rickety auto-rickshaws, pootling scooters and roaring motorcycles all jostle for space, as do various forms of livestock. On many city streets vendors eat up half the road space while on some older highways it is not uncommon for people to drive on the wrong side of the road.

印度的道路是混乱的，这已不是什么秘密。司机们无视车道标线；交通信号灯仅仅被认为是一种建议；行人在快速移动的车流中穿行，主要的安全措施是不停地鸣笛。也不仅仅是汽车。超载的货车、摇摇晃晃的机动三轮车，小摩托车和呼啸的摩托车，以及各种各样的牲畜，都在争夺空间。在许多城市的街道上，小贩占据了一半的道路空间，而在一些老旧的高速公路上，人们在道路的反方向驾驶并不罕见。

The chaos reflects a structural problem. In the poorest countries there are few vehicles, which move slowly on bad roads. That means relatively few deaths relative to population, even though safety standards may be low.

这种混乱反映了一个结构性问题。在最贫穷的国家，车辆很少，在糟糕的道路上行驶缓慢。这意味着相对于人口而言，死亡人数相对较少，尽管安全标准可能很低。

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