Better Road Signs CouldSave Bicycle Riders

路标多重要？能救骑行者的命！

撰文  卡伦·霍普金（KarenHopkin）

翻译  徐丽

审校  张雪  李轩

Signsthat say "Share the Road" with bicycles may have far less influenceover motor vehicle driver behavior than would signs saying "Bicycles May UseFull Lane."

什么样的路标可以让人们意识到自行车的行车权利？一项调查结果显示，非“自行车可用全车道”标志不可。

Streetscan be a dangerous place for bicycles. In 2013, nearly 750 cyclists were killedin the U.S. from being hit by a car. And of the 48,000 cycling injuries thatwere reported that year, nearly a third involved a motor vehicle. Now, a newstudy suggests that signs sporting just five words could help show drivers andbike riders how to share the road. By not saying “share the road.”

在路上骑自行车有时会非常危险。2013年，美国约有750名骑行者因与车辆相撞而丧生。而在所报道的48000起骑行事故中，近1/3与机动车辆有关。最近一项研究表明，仅仅改变路标的名称——使用“自行车可用全车道”，而不是“共享道路”——就可以引导驾驶员和骑行者共享道路。

Inall 50 states, traffic regulations state that bikes should be treated asvehicles, which means that they have the same rights as cars when it comes tousing the roads. But those rules are not always clear. Signs that urgemotorists to “Share the road” are ambiguous. Cyclists may assume they mean thatcars should make room for bikes. But some drivers may think they’re saying thatbikes should get out of the way of traffic.

在全美50个州，交通法规视自行车为车辆，这意味着在使用道路方面，自行车与汽车具有同等权利。但这些规定有时候并不明确。要求驾驶员“共享道路”的路标就很模糊——骑行者可能会认为标志的意思是汽车应当给自行车让路，但驾驶员则可能认为这是在要求自行车离开当前车道。

Tosee how such signs influence how people think about bike riders’ rights,researchers recruited 1,800 volunteers to take a quick survey. Subjects wereshown one of four images. Some saw a street with a traditional “share the road”sign; some saw an image of a bicycle painted on the pavement in a shared lane;some saw signs that read “bicycles may use full lane”; and some saw a streetwith no instructions at all. They then answered some questions about roadetiquette.

研究人员招募了1800名志愿者参与一项快速调查，以弄清这些路标能够在多大程度上影响人们对于骑行者权利的态度。志愿者们会看见四张不同图片中的一张，有的会看见街道上有传统的“共享道路”路标，有的会看见混合车道的人行道上刷有自行车图标，还有一些会看见“自行车可用全车道”路标，另外一些则会看见完全没有任何指示的街道。之后，他们需要回答一些关于道路礼仪的问题。

Itturns out that folks who saw the sign explicitly noting that bikes can use thefull lane were the most likely to recognize cyclists’ rights to be on the road.And the ambiguous “share the road” suggestion? It had about the same influenceon the study subjects as no sign at all. The findings appear in the journalPLoS One. [George Hess and M. Nils Peterson, “Bicycles May Use Full Lane”Signage Communicates U.S. Roadway Rules and Increases Perception of Safety]

结果表明，那些看到明确指出自行车可用全车道标志的志愿者，最有可能意识到骑行者的行驶权利。而表意模糊的“共享道路”标志呢？调查结果显示，这与没有路标几乎没有差别。以上研究成果发表在PlotS One期刊上。(George Hess and M. Nils Peterson, “BicyclesMay Use Full Lane” Signage Communicates U.S. Roadway Rules and IncreasesPerception of Safety)

Soremember, bicycles may indeed use the full lane. And everyone on the roadshould use their full brain.

因此请记住，自行车可能确实需要使用全车道。路上的每个人都应该小心谨慎，安全第一！