老外在中国：交通安全至上

在我的祖国美国，对于酒后驾驶的惩处过于宽松。那些醉酒的人通常可以继续开车，直到他们撞死人。大部分司机都尊重生命，细心谨慎。但是总有些人坐到汽车方向盘前，就会暴露出施恶于他人的变态心理。保护人们的唯一方法就是严格执行法律，并修建旨在保护行人和骑车者等弱势出行者的马路。

By David Blair

On December 27, 2017, cyclist Tom Palermo, a father of two young children, was run over by a drunk driver near Baltimore, Maryland. Riding on a road with a broad shoulder, far from traffic, he was left to die on the road, as the driver sped away.

2017年12月27日，两个孩子的父亲汤姆•巴勒莫在马里兰州巴尔的摩附近骑自行车时被一个酒驾司机开车撞倒。巴勒莫骑行的道路路肩宽，远离来往车辆，由于肇事司机疾驰而去，巴勒莫被留在事故地点，直至死亡。

The driver, a bishop in the Episcopal church, fled to her home. But, fortunately, another bike rider was able to follow her and report her location to police. Turns out she had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit and was also texting at the time she killed Palermo.

这位肇事司机是新教圣公会的主教，她逃回家中。但幸运的是，另一位骑行者跟上了她并把她的位置报告给警察。事后证明当时她血液中的酒精含量是法定上限的三倍，而且她撞死巴勒莫的时候还在发短信。

She had been stopped by police for drunk driving four years before—again with a very high blood alcohol level and with an almost finished bottle of whisky and a marijuana pipe in the car. Amazingly, no charges were filed, she continued as a bishop, and, obviously, continued driving. If she had not been so connected and privileged, she might have gone to prison that time, and Tom Palermo would still be alive.

这位司机曾在四年前因酒驾被交警拦下，当时她血液中的酒精含量同样很高并且车内有一瓶见底的威士忌和大麻管。但令人惊讶的是，她并未被起诉，之后她继续担任主教一职并且显然，继续开车。假如当初她没有那么多关系与特权，或许在四年前她就会被关进监狱，而巴勒莫现在仍然活着。

For the wanton killing, she did receive a punishment of seven years, which seems too little. The court concluded that she “showed no remorse and took no responsibility for her actions.”

司机最终因故意杀人而被判处七年有期徒刑，这点惩罚似乎太轻了。而且法院认定她“毫无悔意且对于自己的行为不负责任”。

In my home country, the US, penalties for drunk driving are certainly too lax. The drunks generally keep driving until they kill someone.

在我的祖国美国，对于酒后驾驶的惩处过于宽松。那些醉酒的人通常可以继续开车，直到他们撞死人。

In 2011, China enacted legislation that made it a criminal offense to drive with a blood alcohol level above 8 mg/100 ml. According to Xinhua, the number of drunk driving cases fell 40% in the year following the new legislation. Still, according to research by researchers at the health ministry in the Haidian district of Beijing, random breath surveys in two southern cities showed 4.5 percent of drivers with a blood alcohol level above 200 mg/100ml, far above the legal limit.

2011年，中国立法规定，驾驶过程中司机血液酒精含量高于8 mg/100 ml的情况构成刑事犯罪。根据新华社报道，新法规颁布后的一年中，酒驾人数下降40%。但根据北京市海淀区卫生局研究人员的研究，在两座南方城市进行的随机呼气测醉调查中，仍有4.5%的驾驶员血液酒精含量超过200 mg/100ml，远远高于法定上限。

So, I was dismayed by a guideline issued in May by the Supreme People's Court that said “offenses that cause very little harm to society should not be considered crimes, and thus be exempt from the penalties set out for dangerous driving in the Criminal Law,” as reported earlier in China Daily.

而《中国日报》此前报道，中国最高人民法院今年5月颁布的相关指导性意见指出：“对社会危害不大的，不予定罪，可以免去刑事处罚。”这还是让我有点沮丧的。

With all due respect, I cannot understand the meaning of this. If someone shoots a gun into a crowd and happens not to hit anyone, shouldn't that be punished as reckless homicide?

恕我冒昧，我实在不能理解这条指导性意见的意义何在。好比有人在人群中开枪，但恰好没有击中任何人，难道他就能免于被指控过失杀人吗？

Of course, drunk drivers are not the only killers. In April, according to China Daily, a speeding taxi in China's Henan province ran over a woman, then left the scene of the accident. A minute later, she was hit again by a speeding SUV.

当然，酒后驾驶并不是马路上唯一的杀手。根据《中国日报》的报道，今年4月，河南省一辆超速行驶的出租车在撞倒一名妇女后逃逸。一分钟后，这位妇女又被另一辆超速车辆碾过。

This kind of thing happens all over the world. Most drivers are careful people who have respect for human life. But, there is something about being behind the wheel of a car that brings out the inner psychopath in others.

这样的悲剧在世界各地都有发生。大部分司机都尊重生命，细心谨慎。但是总有些人坐到汽车方向盘前，就会暴露出施恶于他人的变态心理。

The only way to protect people is by strict enforcement of the laws and by building roads designed to protect vulnerable users, such as walkers and bikers.

保护人们的唯一方法就是严格执行法律，并修建旨在保护行人和骑车者等弱势出行者的马路。

Nothing will bring back the father lost by his children, but it's past time to say enough is enough. Get these killers off the road.

没有什么能让孩子们失去的父亲再回来，但现在是时候说出“适可而止”了。必须让这些凶手远离马路。