By SAM Grobart
Dede Haskin's cellphone has been her constant companion for more than a decade. And she has always considered herself a careful driver - even using a hands-free set so she could keep both hands on the wheel. [But after missing one too many exits because she was distracted by a phone call, Ms. Haskins decided it was time to get tough with herself.] So [she signed up for ZoomSafer], a free service that uses her phone's GPS sensors to determine whether she's at driving speeds, and then disabled her cellphones until she stops the car. " I really love my cellphone," said Ms. Haskins, the chief executive of a software company in Washington. " But I know I'm not driving safely if I'm using it while behind the wheel." Of course, there's a simpler, no-cost solution to limiting phone use while driving: the off button. But that is hard for many who have become addicted to their gadgets. And so technology companies are trying to solve a problem caused by technology with more technology.
以有十餘年時間手機一直是黛德哈斯金的好夥伴。她總是認為自己很專心開車，為了讓雙手能握著方向盤，她還使用免時聽筒。但就在因為電話分心而錯過好幾個交流道出口後，哈絲金小姐決定對自己嚴格一點。因此他報名免費的ZoomSafer，這個服務利用她的手機全球定位系統感應器來偵測她是否正處於開車狀態，當偵測到時便會自動讓其手機無法運作直到車子停止。哈絲巾小姐是一家位於華盛頓的軟體公司的執行長，她說：「我真的很愛我的手機，但是我知道如果我在開車時使用是不安全的。」當然有一個更簡單而且不須花任何費用的方式，那就是關機。但是這對許多已經對手機上癮的人來說是很困難的。因此科技公司正試著用更多科技的方法來解決這個因科技而產生的難題。
But the solutions reflect markedly different answers to a simple question: How much can drivers be trusted?
但是這些不同方法都顯然地反映出一個簡單的問題，會有不同的解決答案：到底能否信任駕駛者?
One group of companies assume that some people know they can't help themselves, and therefore want a service to automatically disable their cellphone when it's in a moving car.
有一派公司認為有些人知道他們無法控制他們自己，因此當他們開車時，需要一個可以自動將他們的手機關機的裝置。
But other companies said the habit can be made safer with hands-free technology. Ford and Microsoft, for example, are selling systems that rely on voice commands to dial phones.
但另一派公司則認為，運用免持聽筒就能讓這習慣變的安全些。例如福特與微軟就推出音控(語音指令)撥號系統。
Hands-free devices are far more popular. But it is cellphone-muzzling technology that has caught the eye of large auto insurers. That's because some studies show that talking on phones while driving is dangerous, even if the drivers is using a headset and has both hands on the whee. One insurer has even said it will offer discounts to customers who use a call-blocking service.
而免持手機裝置受歡迎的多。但是吸引了汽車保險公司的反而是限制手機的技術，因為一些研究顯示即使駕駛者使用免持聽筒而且雙手都在方向盤上，邊開車邊講手機仍然很危險。有一家保險公司甚至提供折價優惠如果顧客使用封鎖來電裝置。
A number of fledging companies like ZoomSafer , Aegis Mobility and obdEdge employ systems that place restrictions on the phones based on the phones' GPS signal, data from the car itself or from nearby cellphone towers. Any incoming calls are then routed to voice mail or a message explaining that the phone's owner is driving. Exceptions can be made for certain numbers.
ZoomSafer , Aegis Mobility 與 obdEdge等許多新成立的公司都採用手機全球定位系統的訊號、車子本身，及鄰近的手機基地台傳來的資料等來限制手機的系統(將句子前後顛倒番比較順)。任何打進來的電話都會被轉進語音信箱或是出現訊息告知手機擁有者正在開車。但某些特定號碼來電可以例外。
Passengers in cars can override such system, but in many cases doing so automatically sends an e-mail message to the account administrator - say, a parent or employer - alerting them that the cellphone is in use.
車上乘客是可以不受這個系統限制，但許多案例顯示，這麼做會有電子郵件訊息主動發給帳戶管理者，向是父母或雇主，警告他們有人正在使用這支手機。
Employers that want to make sure their drivers abide by bans on cellphone use are obvious potential customers. Community Coffee, a Baton Rouge, Louisiana, coffee roaster and distributor, has had such a ban on its 400 trucks for three years, which the company says has helped reduce its accidents rate by 30 percent.
那些想要確保旗下司機遵守手機使用禁令的雇主很明顯的是潛在客戶。路易斯安納州巴頓魯志的咖啡烘烤商及批發商Community Coffee，已經限制旗下400輛卡車使用手機3年了，該公司表示，這讓他們車禍事故少了三成。
It started testing a call-blocking system from obdEdge, called Cellcontrol, in Augeust. ObdEdge charges companies $85, plus about $5 monthly, for each vehicle equipped with Cellcontrol.
在八月，這家公司開始試用ObdEdge的來電封鎖系統，叫做「手機控制」。ObdEdge向每家企業收85美金，另對安裝「手機控制」的每台車加收5美金的月費。
" We realized we had to go beyond eudcation and policy," said Jamey LeBlanc, the risk manager for Community Coffee. "You're going against human nature here, so you need something that works independently of that."
Community Coffee的風險管理師，杰米‧勒布朗客說：「我們知道我們不能光靠宣導及政策，我們是反人性而行，所以就需要與人性完全無關的東西才行。」
In effect, addiction to gadgets is creating a new gadget industry. "If we could control ourselves, we wouldn't need any of this technology," said Donald Power, a managing partner at obdEdge. " We know it's such a bad habit, but we crave being connected."
實際上，就是因為著迷於這些小玩意兒，反而產生新的小玩意兒市場。obdEdge的執行夥伴豆鈉炮爾說：「如果我們可以控制我們自己，我們就不需要這些科技；我們也都知道這是壞習慣，但就是無法忍受任何一刻聯絡不上。」
Other companies insist the habit is not so bad and can be mitigated by employing voice recognition and speech-to-text technologies in cars.
其他公司堅持這並不是多壞的習慣，而且開車時可以藉由聲音辨識及語音轉文字等科技來改善。
Such systems are typically developed and prompted by some of the biggest names in electronics and automobiles, as well as well-financed trade groups like the Cousumer Electronics Association and CTIA, the wireless industy group.
這些系統通常都是由電子及汽車業界中鼎鼎有名的公司研發及掀起熱潮，除此之外，像是營運良好的貿易集團，如消費電子協會，及無線電集團如CTIA等也是積極參與。
Ford and Microsoft, for example, joined forces to develop the Sync system, which uses voice commands to pick out a name from a phone's address book to place a call. It can also retrive incoming text messages and read them aloud.
例如福特與微軟就加入研發Sync系統，利用音控挑出電話簿裡的人名然後撥出去，還可以收下傳來的簡訊然後大聲唸出。
In 2008, 918,000 hands-free system were installed in cars, according to Cousumer Electronics Association. By the end of 2009, the industry group estimates, that figure will climb to 1.6 million systems.
在2008年，根據消費電子協會，有91萬8千組的免持聽筒系統安裝在車上。到2009年底，業界預估將攀升達到160萬組。
" We're trying to take what people are doing and make it safer," said Doug Vandagens, the director of Ford's Sync project. " Voice provides the safest options and keeps the driver's eyes on the road."
福特的Sync方案執行長道格凡達跟說：「我們試著順著現在人們的習慣，並使這些行為更安全。語音是最安全的選擇，而且可以保持駕駛者的眼睛專注在路上。」
hands-free 免持手機
company 企業
distributor 批發商
prompt 推廣
Washington 華盛頓、華府
30 percent 三成
go beyond 不能光靠
in effect 其實
voice 聲音、語音
組合名詞.... 「名詞+動詞」eg. call-blocking 來電封鎖 instead of 封鎖來電
Translation based on 夏嘉玲
Source from The New York Times of United Daily News
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