VOA慢速英语2018 研究显示汽车辅助系统在真实情况中表现欠佳（在线收听）

Study: Auto Assist Systems Struggle in Real-World Situations

A new study has found that driver assistance systems fail to perform some actions in real-world test situations.

一项新研究发现，辅助驾驶系统在真实测试中未能执行一些操作。

The American Automobile Association of America, AAA, also called "Triple-A," carried out the study. The nonprofit organization provides automobile and travel-related services to more than 59 million members across North America.

这项研究由美国汽车协会（简称AAA）进行。这个非营利组织向北美5900余万名成员提供汽车和旅行相关服务。

The organization tested four vehicles equipped with driver assistance technology. Such technology is designed to electronically help drivers with things like staying in their lane. The systems can also stop the car automatically in case of an emergency.

该组织对4辆搭载辅助驾驶技术的车辆进行了测试。这类技术旨在用电子装置在一些方面为司机提供帮助，比如帮助司机保持在原车道上行驶。这一系统还能在遇到紧急情况时自动停车。

The test results came after several highly publicized crashes that involved Tesla vehicles equipped with driver assistance tools.

测试结果公布前曾发生了多起引发高度关注的交通事故，其中包括搭载辅助驾驶工具的特斯拉汽车的事故。

The test vehicles that AAA used included a 2018 Mercedes-Benz S-Class, a 2018 Nissan Rogue, a 2017 Tesla Model S and a 2019 Volvo XC40. The experiments aimed to recreate common driving situations to measure the performance of the assistance systems.

测试的车型包括2018年梅赛德斯-奔驰S级、2018年尼桑Rogue、2017年特斯拉S型和2019年沃尔沃XC40。测试旨在再现常见的驾驶情况，以评估辅助系统的性能。

All of the test models had systems designed to provide emergency stopping assistance. In addition, they were built to help keep vehicles within a lane and to back up speed control systems.

所有测试车型均搭载了紧急制动辅助系统。另外，这些车型还搭载了车道保持辅助系统和倒车速度控制系统。

AAA said the test vehicles repeatedly struggled on public roads when dealing with some real-world situations. The researchers reported repeated cases in which the test vehicle did not stay fully in its lane or moved back and forth within the lane.

美国汽车协会表示，测试车辆在公共道路上应对一些真实情况时多次表现吃力。研究人员表示，测试车辆多次出现驶出车道或在车道上来回晃动的情况。

Other problems included the vehicles braking incorrectly, following cars in front of them too closely and making unexpected speed changes. The study found that 90 percent of cases that required a driver to take over to avoid a crash happened because of a vehicle’s inability to keep inside a lane.

其他问题包括车辆制动错误、与前车距离过近、突然变速等。研究发现，需要司机接手以避免事故的情况中，90%都是由于车辆无法保持在车道内行驶造成的。

AAA said, “The irregular and complex nature of the real-world driving environment revealed the vulnerabilities of this technology.” It also said the tests found that the systems generally performed best on open freeways or on roads with very slow traffic.

美国汽车协会表示，“真实驾驶环境的不规则性和复杂性揭露了这项技术的漏洞。”美国汽车协会指出，测试发现，辅助驾驶系统通常在开放的高速公路或行驶缓慢的道路上表现最好。

Separate tests were carried out in a controlled environment off public roads. In those tests, AAA reported that all vehicles were able to successfully stay in a lane. All were also able to recognize the presence of another vehicle entering into traffic.

美国汽车协会还在环境受控的公共道路上进行了另一项测试。该组织表示，在这项测试中所有车辆都能成功地保持在原车道上行驶。而且所有车辆都能发现进入交通的另一辆汽车。

However, three out of four vehicles failed a test in which a lead vehicle changed lanes, causing a stopped vehicle to suddenly appear. AAA said in this test, each of the three cases required a driver to intervene to avoid an immediate crash.

但是，在前面有车改变车道导致一辆停下的车突然出现时，四辆测试车辆中有三辆都未能躲避。美国汽车协会表示，在这项测试中，失败的三辆车均需要司机介入，以避免撞车。

AAA noted that automakers usually warn that the ability to recognize a stopped vehicle after a lead vehicle changes lanes is a design limitation for driver assistance systems. But AAA’s director of automotive engineering, Greg Brannon, said researchers had expected the vehicles to notice the stopped cars and react in time.

美国汽车协会指出，汽车制造商通常会警告称，在前车改变车道后发现静止车辆是辅助驾驶系统的设计限制。但是美国汽车协会的汽车工程总监格雷格·布兰农表示，研究人员希望这些车辆能看到停止的车辆，并及时做出反应。

The AAA findings are the second tests to show that driver assist systems cannot deal with every situation in real-world driving, including some that are quite common. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released similar test results in August.

美国汽车协会的研究是第二个证明辅助驾驶系统不能应对真实驾驶环境中所有情况的测试，这包括一些极其常见的情况。美国高速公路安全保险协会在今年8月发布了一份类似的测试结果。

As part of its study, AAA asked a sample of Americans about their knowledge of different driver assistance systems. It said about 40 percent of those questioned said they believed such systems meant the vehicles could drive by themselves.

美国汽车协会在进行这项研究时还询问了一些美国人对不同辅助驾驶系统的了解。研究显示，约40%的受访者表示，他们认为这类系统意味着车辆可以自动驾驶。

Brannon said one reason for the misunderstanding could be that several manufacturers use the word pilot in the names of their systems. Tesla calls its system “Autopilot,” while Volvo uses the name “Pilot Assist.” Nissan’s system is called “ProPilot Assist.”

布兰农表示，造成这种误解的其中一个原因是，多家制造商在系统中使用了“驾驶”这个词。特斯拉将其辅助驾驶系统称为“自动驾驶仪”，沃尔沃的系统名为“驾驶辅助”，而尼桑的系统则命名为“支持辅助驾驶”。

Brannon said with today’s ever-changing technology, “there is a greater need for naming that clearly signals to a driver what the system does.”

布兰农指出，由于现在的技术日新月异，“更需要能向司机清楚说明搭载系统功能的命名”。

He added, “Vague or confusing terminology may lead someone to overestimate a system’s capability, unintentionally placing the driver and others on the road at risk.”

他还表示，“模糊或混淆的用语可能使人们高估系统的性能，在无意中将司机和道路上的其他人置于危险之中。”

Words in This Story

lane – n. part of road that is marked by painted lines and used as a single line of vehicles

braking – n. system that stops or slows the movement of a vehicle

vulnerability – n. state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed

freeway – n. a long, wide road, usually used by traffic travelling fast over long distances

vague – adj. not clear or certain

confusing – adj. difficult to understand

unintentional – adv. not planned or intended