交通安全:需要的不只是新交规

Turning left under a bridge in Beijing, Hu Xingxin, 24, suddenly screeched to a stop in front of a yellow light at a busy crossroad.

24岁的胡兴新（音译）开车经过北京的一座桥下左，突然一阵刺耳的急刹车声，他将车停在了一处繁华十字路口的黄灯前。

“According to the new traffic regulations, running a yellow light is equal to running a red one,” said the Beijing-based IT technician. “Since the new rules came into effect I’m always ready to hit the brakes to avoid a penalty.“

“根据新交规规定，闯黄灯等同于闯红灯，”在北京做IT技术员工作的他表示。“自从新交规实行以来，我随时做好刹车的准备，以免被罚。”

Authorities have since changed the rules and running a yellow light no longer results in a 6-point deduction.

稍后，有关部门对于新交规做了修改，闯黄灯不再受到扣六分的处罚。

New traffic regulations are the latest measure to improve road safety, which has become a problem in China. Experts say that to achieve better road safety, various and comprehensive methods are needed. Updating the rules are only part of the story.

在中国，交通安全是一个难题，而新交规正是改善这一难题的最新举措。专家表示，如果想要提升交通安全，需要各种综合措施来配合。更新法律只是一个方面。

“Traffic accidents have become a serious problem for public safety,” said Wang Yong, a public health emergency consultant from the Ministry of Health.

“交通事故已经成为一个非常严重的公共安全问题，”卫生部突发公共卫生事件应急顾问王勇（音译）表示。

More than 68,000 road accidents, resulting in 794 deaths, more than 100 a day, occurred in China during the last National Day holiday, according to the Ministry of Public Security. The ministry also revealed that in 2011, 62,000 people died from road accidents.

据公安部统计，去年国庆假期，我国共发生6.8万多起交通事故，导致了764人丧生，每日发生交通事故达上百起。公安部还透露，2011年有6.2万人死于交通事故。

“Traffic accidents are becoming a development crisis,” World Health Organization (WHO) director general Margaret Chan told The Guardian last month.

“交通事故正在演变成为一场发展的危机，”世界卫生组织总干事陈冯富珍上月在接受《卫报》记者采访时表示。

According to the WHO, traffic accidents kill more people around the world than malaria and are the leading cause of death for young people aged 5 to 29 - especially in developing countries.

据世界卫生组织统计，全世界交通事故死亡人数超过疟疾，成为了5-29岁年龄段青少年的主要死亡原因，特别是在发展中国家。

Each year up to 1.3 million people are killed and more than 50 million injured in traffic accidents around the world.

每年全世界范围发生的交通事故致使多达130万人丧生，超过5000万人受伤。

The economic consequences are also significant: According to a study by the World Bank and Harvard University, traffic accidents on average cost a country 1 to 3 percent of its annual Gross National Product. The WHO reported that road accidents cost the world more than $500 billion (3.11 trillion yuan) a year.

所引起的经济后果也很显著：根据世界银行和哈佛大学联合研究显示，对于一个国家而言，每年交通事故通常会消耗掉1-3%的国民生产总值。世界卫生组织报告称，每年，交通事故会为全世界带来超过5000亿美元（约合31100亿元人民币）的损失。

The newly revised regulations impose much heavier penalties on drivers who violate traffic rules. Under the new regulations, 52 different violations result in penalties, up from 38 under the previous system.

新修订的交规大大加大了对违规司机的处罚力度。根据新规定，违规行为记分项由之前的38项增至52项。

Eleven kinds of violations now result in the deduction of 12 points, compared to six points under the previous regulation. These violations include drunken driving and using fake license plates.

今后，共有11项违规行为从之前的扣6分处罚，提升至扣12分。这些违规行为包括酒后驾车以及伪造车牌。

“The heavier penalties will force drivers to follow traffic regulations,” said Chen Yanyan, a professor at Beijing University of Technology’s Transport Research Center. But she added that traffic regulations are only one aspect of many regarding problems with road safety in China.

“更为严厉的处罚将会迫使司机遵守交规，”来自北京工业大学交通研究中心的陈燕燕（音译）教授说。但她也表示交通法规只是我国交通安全相关问题的一个方面。

According to Chen, other components of road safety include technology and urban design.

陈教授称，交通安全的其他组成部分包括技术和城市设计。