Foreign Motorists

 

外国司机

The chief problem in coping with foreign motorists is not so much remembering that they are different from yourself,but that they are enormously variable.

应对外国司机问题的主要困难不是要记住他们与你不同，而是记住他们极其多变，各不相同。

Cross a frontier without adjusting and you can be in deep trouble.

不作些调整就通过边界，你会遇到大麻烦。

One of the greatest gulfs separating the driving nations is the Atlantic Ocean.

大西洋是个例具有不同驾驶习惯的国度的最大的鸿沟之一。

More precisely, it is the mental distance between the European and the American motorist,particularly the South American motorist.

更精确地讲，它是欧洲司机与美洲司机尤其是南美司机之间的心理距离。

Compare, for example,an English driver at a set of traffic lights with a Brazilian.

比如，比较一下交通信号灯前的英国司机和巴西司机。

Very rarely will an English man try to anticipate the green light by moving off prematurely.

英国人很少会看到要变绿灯而提前开动。

You will find the occasional sharpie who watches for the amber to come up on the adjacent set of lights.

你会发现偶尔有某个机灵的司机会留心红绿灯间的黄灯信号。

However, he will not go until he receives the lawful signal.

然而，他也是接到法律规定通行的信号才会开动。

Brazilians view the thing quite differently.

巴西人对这一点有点截然不同的看法。

If, in fact, they see traffic lights at all,they regard them as a kind of roadside decoration.

实际上，如果他们看到交通灯了，他们只是把它们看作是路边的装饰。

The natives of North America are much more disciplined.

北美人更严于律己。

They demonstrate this in their addiction to driving in one lane and sticking to it—even if it means settling behind some great truck for many miles.

这一点体现在他们习惯并坚持在某个车道行驶—即使那意味着要跟在大卡车后面行驶数英里。

To prevent other drivers from falling into reckless ways,American motorists try always to stay close behind the vehicle in front,which can make it impossible,when all the vehicles are moving at about 55 mph,to make a real lane change.

为了防止其他司机鲁莽冲动，美国司机总是尽量紧跟前面的车，这样当所有车以每小时55英里的速度行驶时，想换道行驶是不可能的。

European visitors are constantly falling into this trap.

欧洲游客们经常中计。

They return to the Old World still flapping their arms in frustration because while driving in the States in their car they kept failing to get off the highway when they wanted to and were swept along to the next city.

他们回答欧洲后仍然沮丧地挥舞胳膊，因为在美国开车时他们想下高速路却总是下不去而被车流带到了下一个城市。

However, one nation above all others lives scrupulously by its traffic regulations—the Swiss.

然而，比起所有其他民族，有一个民族总是一丝不苟地遵守交通规则—瑞士人。

In Switzerland, if you were simply to anticipate a traffic light,the chances are that the motorist behind you would take your number and report you to the police.

在瑞士，如果你仅仅看到要变绿灯就提前开动，很可能后面的司机就会记下你的车号并报告给警察局。

What is more, the police would visit you;and you would be convicted.

而且，警察会找你，你会被判刑。

The Swiss take their rules of the road so seriously that a driver can be ordered to appear in court and charged for speeding on hearsay alone,and very likely found guilty.

瑞士人对待道路规则十分认真，仅仅因为道听途说而无需确凿证据，一个司机就会被要求到庭并被控超速，之后这名司机很可能被判有罪。

There are slight regional variations among the French, German and Italian speaking areas,but it is generally safe to assume that any car bearing a CH sticker will be driven with a high degree of discipline.

在讲法语，德语和意大利语的不同地区，情况存在微小的地区差异，但一般可以肯定地说，任何贴有瑞士标志的车都特别地遵守规则。