我只有三分钟
I only have three minutes
所以我得说快点
so I’m going to have to talk fast, and it will
这有点劳神，因为一心多用挺累人的
use up your spare mental cycles, so multitasking may be hard.
我于27年前收到一张罚款单
So, 27 years ago I got a traffic ticket
这使我陷入沉思
that got me thinking.
我想了又想
I’ve had some time to think it over.
节约能源不单是
And energy efficiency is more than just
改造交通工具的问题
about the vehicle —
也是改造道路问题
it’s also about the road.
道路设计，尤其是交叉路口设计尤为重要
Road design makes a difference, particularly intersections,
交叉路口无非就两种：有交通信号灯的路口
of which there are two types: signalized
和没交通信号灯但有路标的路口
and unsignalized, which means stop signs.
近一半的事故发生在没交通信号灯的路口
Fifty percent of crashes happen at intersections.
环状交叉路的情况好一些
Roundabouts are much better.
研究表明
A study of 24 intersections
当被测的24个交叉路口在改造成环状交叉路后
has found crashes drop 40 percent
车祸事故发生率下降了40%
from when you convert a traffic light into a roundabout.
伤亡事故率下降了76%
Injury crashes have dropped 76 percent,
恶性致命事故率下降了90%
fatal crashes down 90 percent.
不过这只是从安全角度考虑
But that’s just safety.
时间和燃油呢？
What about time and gas?
只要交通流畅，司机就不会踩急刹车
So, traffic keeps flowing, so that means less braking,
也就不会加速，也就不会浪费燃油污染环境
which means less accelerating, less gas and less pollution,
也不会浪费时间
less time wasted,
欧洲就是这样提高能源效率的
and that partly accounts for Europe’s better efficiency
他们比美国做的好
than we have in the United States.
没信号灯的交叉路口
So, unsignalized intersections,
只有信号牌，这可事关人命
meaning stop signs, they save many lives,
但于欧洲，信号牌可是成倍的增长
but there’s an excessive proliferation of them.
小型环状交叉路也开始出现
Small roundabouts are starting to appear.
这是我住的小区
This is one in my neighborhood. And they are
这些环状交叉路可比信号灯和指示牌好使多了
much better — better than traffic lights, better than four-way stop signs.
但价格却不菲
They’re expensive to install,
要是没有它们，我们会损失惨重，所以还是考虑一下吧
but they are more expensive not to. So, we should look at that.
但不是所有路口都可以改造成环状交叉路
But they are not applicable in all situations.
譬如说，三岔路
So, take, for example, the three-way intersection.
在次干道和主干道交会处安装
So, it’s logical that you’d have one there,
三岔路是明智之举
on the minor road entering the major.
但对于另外两个次干道来说这方法不怎么可行
But the other two are somewhat questionable.
我研究过这个
So, here’s one. There’s another one which I studied.
车辆很少会从第三个路口开过来
Cars rarely appear on that third road.
这意味着什么呢？
And so, the question is, what does that cost us?
我研究的交叉路口每天各个方向大约有
That intersection I looked at had about 3,000
3000辆车驶过
cars per day in each direction,
每踩一次油门会多消耗2盎司燃油
and so that’s two ounces of gas to accelerate out of.
每盎司耗费5美分，那么每天3000辆车
That’s five cents each, and times 3,000 cars per day,
那每年就多花费51000美元
that’s $51,000 per year.
这只不过是油钱，我还没算
That’s just the gasoline cost. There is also pollution,
车排放的尾气和浪费的时间
wear on the car, and time.
那到底浪费了多少时间呢
What’s that time worth?
每一辆车要耗费10秒钟，3000辆车就是–
Well, at 10 seconds per 3,000 cars,
每天八个半小时
that’s 8.3 hours per day. The average wage in the U.S.
美国平均每小时工资为20美元，年工资是6万美元
is $20 an hour. That is 60,000 per year.
再加上油钱就是11万2千美元
Add that together with the gas, and it’s $112,000 per year,
这就是交通路标的耗资
just for that sign in each direction.
再加上近年来的5%的通货膨胀
Discount that back to the present, at five percent:
总额超过200万
over two million dollars
这就是在每个方向安装一个路标的成本
for a stop sign, in each direction.
再看看路口周围的地价
Now, if you look at what that adjacent property is worth,
你基本上可以拿这200万买下周围的地皮
you could actually buy the property,
砍掉灌木丛开阔一下视野
cut down the shrubbery to improve the sight line,
然后转手卖出
and then sell it off again.
还小有盈利
And you’d still come out ahead.
我们不禁想：为什么？
So, it makes one wonder, “Why is it there?”
为什么要在每个方向装路标呢？
I mean, why is there that stop sign in each direction?
因为救人要紧。那有没有更好的方法呢？
Because it is saving lives. So, is there a better way to accomplish that goal?
答案就是确保车辆
The answer is to enable cars
安全地从另一边驶出
to come in from that side road safely.
因为那边有很多住户
Because there are a lot of people who might live up there
车多了难免会排成一条长龙
and if they’re waiting forever a long queue could form
因为主干道上的车速较快
because the cars aren’t slowing down on the main road.
现有的条件下能做到这一点吗？
Can that be accomplished with existing signs?
交通路标的历史悠久
So, there is a long history of stop signs and yield signs.
标志“停”于1915年问世
Stop signs were invented in 1915,
标志“让”出现在1950年。我们就只有这两种路标
yield signs in 1950. But that’s all we got.
为什么不用“让”呢？
So, why not use a yield sign?
因为“让”意味着离开主线
Well the meaning of yield is: You must yield the right-of-way.
就是说，要有5辆车等，你也得等
That means that if there are five cars waiting, you have to wait
直到那5辆车开了，你才能走，
till they all go, then you go. It lacks the notion
没什么换道啊，转弯啊
of alternating, or taking turns,
通常主干道有
and it’s always on the minor road,
优先权
allowing the major one to have primacy.
所以，现行的交通指示牌很难衍生出新意思
So, it’s hard to create a new meaning for the existing sign.
没人能突然宣布：
You couldn’t suddenly tell everyone, “OK, remember
看到“让”是不要“让”
what you used to do at yield signs? Now do something different.”
这可不行
That would not work.
所以我们需要的是
So, what the world needs now
新型信号
is a new type of sign.
（鼓掌）
(Applause)
对于那些不看公共服务告示的人
So, you’d have a little instruction below it,
新型路标下面还带有指示
you know, for those who didn’t see the public service announcements.
是“停”和“让”的综合体
And it merges the stop sign and yield signs.
是”T”字形的
It’s kind of shaped like a T, as in taking turns.
司机一旦不确定，就会提高警惕
And uncertainty results in caution.
人们在不熟悉的环境下不确定时
When people come to an unfamiliar situation they don’t know how to deal with
会减速慢行
they slow down.
那大家现在都是道路专家了
So, now that you are all “Road Scholars” …
（笑）
(Laughter)
但别指望这会很快实现，这个过程总是漫长的
don’t wait for that sign to be adopted, these things don’t change quickly.
作为社区的一员
But you all are members of communities,
每人都有义务
and you can exercise your community influence
确保交通的合理顺畅
to create more sensible traffic flows.
你我皆能为环境保护作出贡献
And you can have more impact on the environment
只需以身作则，影响身边的人
just getting your neighborhood to change these things
大家一起行动来改善交通工具吧。谢谢
than by changing your vehicle. Thank you very much.
（鼓掌）
(Applause)