电动自行车成为马路杀手

　　Bundled against the cold beneath a highway overpass on a busy Beijing intersection, traffic warden Zhao Delong waved his colored flag in frustration at the new silent killer stalking city streets.

　　隆冬时节的北京，在一处立交桥下繁忙的路口旁，穿得严严实实的交通协管员赵德龙（音）正徒劳无功地挥舞着手中的彩旗，试图让电动自行车这种新型马路杀手在路上行驶得规矩些。

　　'Those electric bikes just don't listen! The problem is they go too fast. They can't stop like bikes. I saw an accident just over there the other day where someone on an e-bike rushed through the intersection and plowed over someone on a regular bike,' Mr. Zhao said as he tried to keep China's newest road hazard in check.

　　赵德龙说，这些电动自行车根本不听管！问题是他们的速度太快了，没法向普通自行车那样说停就停。我前几天还看到那边发生了一起事故，一辆电动自行车冲出路口，挂倒了一辆普通自行车。赵德龙一边说，还在一边试着努力控制电动自行车这一新型交通危险因素。

　　Powerful battery-powered bicycles are crowding out their push-pedal brethren, delivering a jolt to the Bicycle Kingdom.

　　拥有电池强劲驱动的电动自行车正在将普通脚踏自行车挤出市场，改变了整个自行车王国的格局。

　　By some estimates there are 120 million e-bikes on China's roads-up from just 50,000 a decade ago, making it the fastest growing form of transportation in China. Cities at first embraced them as a quieter and cleaner alternative to gasoline-powered scooters.

　　据估算，十年前中国仅有5万辆电动自行车，现在则激增到了1.2亿辆，它已成为了中国增长最快的交通工具类型。中国的城市最初之所以接受电动自行车，是因为它既安静又清洁，可以用作燃气驱动型轻便摩托车的替代品。

　　Officials were caught off guard when that environmentally appealing solution turned out to be deadly on the streets. In 2007, there were 2,469 deaths from electric-bicycle accidents nationwide, up from just 34 in 2001, according to government statistics.

　　中国政府官员显然没有料想到这种环保车辆最终会演变成马路杀手。官方统计数据显示，2007年电动自行车事故造成2469人死亡，远远高于2001年时的34人。

　　That's roughly 3% of China's annual 90,000 traffic accident deaths. Still technically bicycles, they're operating in a legal gray zone. Drivers of electric bikes don't need to pass stringent driving tests to get licensed, and courts are struggling to sort out lawsuits.

　　这一数据在中国当年9万交通事故死亡总人数中约占3%。虽然电动自行车从技术上来讲仍属于自行车，但它们却处于法律监管的灰色地带。驾驶电动自行车无需通过严格的驾照考试，同时法庭也在努力对相关肇事者进行惩罚。