The Indian government may use 3D paintings as virtual speed-breakers on major highways and roads, in a bid to check speeding and rash driving, and ultimately make its deadly roads a little safer.
為了抑制超速、變燈沖刺等駕駛行為，并最終提升事故多發(fā)地的安全性，印度政府可能要在主要公路和街道設置3D圖案，作為虛擬減速裝置。

"We are trying out 3D paintings used as virtual speed breakers to avoid unnecessary requirements of speed breakers," India's transport minister Nitin Gadkari tweeted.
印度交通部長尼廷·格德卡里發(fā)推文稱：“我們嘗試繪制3D圖案作為虛擬減速裝置，以降低對不必要的減速帶的使用。”

The optical illusions are supposed to encourage drivers to slow down automatically. Earlier this month, India had ordered the removal of all speed breakers from highways, which are considered to be a safety hazard for high-speed vehicles.
這種視覺幻象手法有望讓司機自動減速。本月早些時候，印度下令拆除公路上的所有減速帶，此舉被認為造成了機動車行駛的安全隱患。

India has the highest number of road accident deaths in the world. According to the World Health Organisation, over 200,000 people are killed by road accidents due to poor implementation of road safety laws. This is considerably higher than its official figures of 141,526 for 2014.
印度是世界上交通事故死亡人數(shù)最多的國家。根據(jù)世界衛(wèi)生組織的數(shù)據(jù)，由于道路安全法規(guī)實施不規(guī)范，印度有20多萬人死于交通肇事。該數(shù)字遠遠高于印度2014年官方公布的141526的死亡人數(shù)。

The use of optical illusions as speed breakers was first pioneered in the American city of Philadelphia in 2008, as part of a campaign against speeding motorists. The technique has also been tried out in China to create floating 3D crossings.
2008年，作為防止機動車超速的舉措之一，美國費城最先將視覺幻象用作減速裝置。中國也曾試行懸浮的3D標志線。

In India, cities such as Ahmedabad and Chennai have already experimented with 3D zebra crossings in the last one year. In Ahmedabad for instance, a mother-daughter artist duo has painted 3D crosswalks in the first few months of 2016. The artists say their motto is "to increase the attention of drivers", and that the concept has been successfully tested in accident-prone zones on a highway.
艾哈邁達巴德和金奈等印度城市去年已開始試行3D斑馬線。以艾哈邁達巴德為例，今年前幾個月，一對藝術家母女就繪制出了3D人行道。她們表示，此舉能夠“增加司機的（安全行駛）意識”，而且這種概念已在事故多發(fā)的路段測試成功。

However, critics argue that once drivers know that these speed breakers are visual illusions, they may ignore them. Others also point out that India's decision does not consider the safety of a large number of pedestrians. In the end, the new policy may be just one step towards improving road safety.
不過，批評者認為，一旦司機知道這種減速帶是眼睛的幻覺，那么他們就可能會忽略這些裝置。還有人指出，印度政府的決定沒有考慮到廣大行人的安全。最終，這種提高道路安全的新政策或許只是一時有效而已。

Vocabulary
speed breakers：減速帶
zebra crossings：斑馬線

英文來源：mashable.com
編譯：杜娟