'Baby on Board' signs and children's toys that obscure a driver's view have caused nearly two million motorists to have accidents. |
Nearly two million drivers in the UK have had accidents due to ‘Baby On Board’ signs and children’s toys that obscure their view, according to alarming new research. One in 20 motorists says stickers and playtime paraphernalia are to blame for a collision - equivalent to 1.85 million of Britain’s 37 million drivers. The revelation triggered a warning by road safety charity Brake to cut down on clutter in the car. Deputy chief executive Julie Townsend said ‘Baby On Board’ signs are useful in alerting the emergency services that a child may be involved in the event of a crash. ‘This help can become a hindrance if drivers display signs when their child isn’t in the vehicle,’ she said. ‘Worse still is the danger that can be posed by drivers obscuring their view by cluttering up windows with lots of signs. ‘Drivers’ priority should always be getting there safely without putting themselves, young passengers or other road users at risk.’ A OnePoll survey commissioned by price comparison website Confused.com found that 37 per cent of parents have displayed signs and four out of five of them believe they improve safety. But 46 per cent admit doing so at all times - regardless of whether or not their child is in the car - and 15 per cent confess they only have them for their novelty value. The poll of 2,000 drivers also found that 46 percent of drivers regard them as a hazard and 33 percent say they are tacky. ‘There are benefits and dangers to “Baby on Board” signs. They can offer useful information for paramedics in the case of a crash but having too many novelty items displayed could be a safety issue,’ said a Confused.com spokesman. (Read by Brian Salter. Brian Salter is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
最新研究表明,英國有大約200萬名司機曾因車貼和兒童玩具發(fā)生過交通事故。這些寫有“車里有孩子”等字樣的車貼和玩具會模糊他們的視線。 在每20位駕駛人員中就有一位表示,車貼和娛樂設備會導致發(fā)生交通事故。英國有3700萬駕駛者,按照這一比例計算,持有這種觀點的高達185萬人。 因此,道路交通安全慈善機構Brake提醒大家清理車輛的相關物品。 該機構的副主管朱莉-湯森說,在發(fā)生交通事故時,“車里有孩子“的車貼對提醒應急服務人員事故中可能有孩子受傷來說非常有用。 她說:“但當孩子沒在車里時,這種車貼就會幫倒忙。” “更糟的是,如果車主在車窗上散亂地貼了很多車貼,會妨礙視線,造成危險。” “司機們首要考慮的應該是,要在不威脅到自己、年輕乘客或者其他路人的情況下安全抵達目的地。” 比價網站Confused.com開展的一項調查發(fā)現(xiàn),37%的父母使用了車貼,其中4/5相信這能使行駛更安全。 但有46%的受訪者承認,不管孩子在沒在車里,他們都會使用車貼,還有15%承認自己這樣做只是因為新奇有趣。 這項針對2000名司機的調查還發(fā)現(xiàn),也有46%的駕駛者認為這種車貼會造成風險,33%認為這樣很俗氣。 Confused.com網站的一位發(fā)言人說:“這種車貼有好處,但也會造成危險。在遇到交通事故時,這種車貼可以為醫(yī)護人員提供有用的信息,但如果車上貼了太多花里胡哨的車貼,就會造成安全隱患了。” 相關閱讀 (中國日報網英語點津 Julie 編輯:Helen) |
Vocabulary: paraphernalia:隨身用具,設備 tacky: 俗氣的 paramedics:護理人員 |