時尚雙語:美國司機一心多用

Talk on the phone while you're driving? Fix your makeup? Check e-mail? You're not alone.

A survey shows 81 percent of Americans do more than drive when they're behind the wheel.

More than eight of 10 people surveyed by Nationwide Mutual Insurance said they adjust the radio or music while they drive, while 73 percent talk on the phone, 68 percent eat, 19 percent send text messages and 5 percent checked their e-mail.

Personal hygiene(1) was also a big driver distraction, with 19 percent fixing their hair, 12 percent putting on makeup and 2 percent shaving while at the controls of a car.

"Clearly Americans have much to do and little time to do it, so to cope with that we've become multi-taskers," said Bill Windsor, associate vice president of Safety at Nationwide.

"The problem with that is driving requires focus, and multi-tasking while driving puts you and your fellow drivers(2) at risk."

Drivers in the survey also admitted to changing seats with passengers, watching a movie, painting their toenails(3), nursing a baby and putting in contact lenses(4) while driving.

Younger drivers multi-task the most, the survey found, with 35 percent of 18-to-27 year olds saying they always multi-task in the car, compared to 21 percent of baby boomers.

Windsor said the consequences for young drivers are severe, with car accidents being the number one cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 27.

"The bottom line is if it can be done in the kitchen, bathroom, office or bedroom, it should not be done in the car," Windsor said.

While some U.S. jurisdictions(5) require hands-free devices for cellphone use in cars, most of the activities listed in the survey are not illegal unless they are determined to be the cause of an accident.

The survey of 1,200 drivers between the ages of 18 and 60 found that while 83 percent believe they are safe drivers, 38 percent admitted they have driven a certain distance without any recollection of doing so.

駕車時候打電話？化妝？查閱電子郵件？這樣做的並非只有你一個！

一項調查顯示，百分之八十一的美國人開車的時候都有“小動作”。

超過五分之四的受測者承認他們在駕駛過程中調廣播臺或者音樂，百分之七十三的人打電話，百分之六十八的人吃東西，百分之十九的人發短信，百分之五的人查閱郵件。此調查由美國互助保險公司贊助主持。

另一大分神行爲是打理個人形象，百分之十九的人整理頭髮、百分之十二的人化妝、百分之二的人刮鬍子。

保險公司安全部副主席說：“顯然美國人的時間入不敷出，只好同時處理多項事務。”

“問題是開車需要精力高度集中，同時做其他的事情會置你和其他司機於險境。”

受測司機還承認曾在駕駛中與乘客換座位、看電影、塗腳指甲、照看寶寶和戴隱形。

年輕司機最會一心多用，18-27歲的司機中有百分之三十五承認他們駕駛時還做別的事情，六十年代生人中僅有百分之二十一。

Windsor說年輕司機的做法會帶來很嚴重的後果，車禍已經成爲18-27歲美國青年的最大殺手。

Windsor說：“能在廚房、浴室、辦公室或者臥室做的事情就不要帶到車上做。”

儘管一些美國法律規定駕駛時必須使用“解放雙手”式手機，但是這張調查問卷上提到的行爲法律上都未作規定，除非這些行爲成爲事故主因。

1200名受測者的年齡從18歲到60歲，雖然百分之八十三的人認爲自己是安全司機，卻有百分之三十八的人承認駕駛了好長一段距離後才能意識到自己在開車。