Believe it or not, optical illusion can cut highway crashes.
Japan is a case in point. It has reduced automobile crashes on some roads by nearly 75 percent using a simple optical illusion. Bent stripes, called chevrons (人字形), painted on the roads make drivers think that they are driving faster than they really are, and thus drivers slow down.
Now the American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety in Washington D. C. is planning to repeat Japan’s success. Starting next year, the foundation will paint chevrons and other patterns of stripes on selected roads around the country to test how well the patterns reduce highway crashes.
Excessive speed plays a major role in as much as one fifth of all fatal traffic accidents, according to the foundation. To help reduce those accidents, the foundation will conduct its tests in areas where speed-related hazards are the greatest—curves, exit slopes, traffic circles, and bridges.
Some studies suggest that straight, horizontal bars painted across roads can initially cut the average speed of drivers in half. However, traffic often returns to full speed within months as divers become used to seeing the painted bars.
Chevrons, scientists say, not only give drivers the impression that they are driving faster than they really are but also make a lane appear to be narrower. The result is a longer lasting reduction in highway speed and the number of traffic accidents.
1. The passage mainly discusses .
A. a new way of highway speed control C. a new approach to training drivers
B. a new pattern for painting highways D. a new type of optical illusion
2. On roads painted with chevrons, drivers tend to feel that .
A. they should avoid speed-related hazards C. they should slow down their speed
B. they are driving in the wrong lane D. they are approaching the speed limit
3. The advantage of chevrons over straight, horizontal bars is that the former .
A. can keep drivers awake C. will have a longer effect on drivers
B. can cut road accidents in half D. will look more attractive
4. The American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety plans to .
A. try out the Japanese method in certain areas
B. change the road signs across the country
C. replace straight, horizontal bars with chevrons
D. repeat the Japanese road patterns
5. What does the author say about straight, horizontal bars painted across roads?
A. They are falling out of use in the United States.
B. They tend to be ignored by drivers in a short period of time.
C. They are applicable only on broad roads.
D. They cannot be applied successfully to traffic circles.
参考答案：A C C A B
信不信由你，错觉能减少公路交通事故。
日本就是一个恰当的例子。日本用一种简单的视觉错觉减少了一些公路上的交通事故达75%。喷涂在马路上的人字形线条使驾驶员认为他们驾驶得比实际速度快，所以驾驶员就放慢了速度。
华盛顿的美国汽车协会交通安全基金会正在计划效仿日本的成功之举。从明年开始，该基金会将在全国一些选定的公路喷涂上人字形线条和其他图案来测试减少公路交通事故的效果。
根据基金会(的数据)，五分之一的致命车祸是由于超速(而引起的)。为了帮助减少类似事故，该基金会将在因超速而导致车祸最多的地方 -- 弯道、出口下坡道、环岛和桥梁进行检测。
有研究表明在马路上喷涂的横直线条起初能将司机的速度平均减少一半。然而，往往几个月后车辆又恢复全速，因为司机已习惯看到那些横线。
科学家说，人字形线不仅使司机感到开得比实际速度快，而且还使得车道显得狭窄。其结果能较长期降低汽车在公路上的行驶速度和减少交通事故的次数。
