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Road Accidents
交通事故
Thank you for joining us for today's Spotlight. I'm Rachel Hobson. Spotlightuses a special English method of broadcasting it is easier for people tounderstand no matter where in the world they live.
Every day, road accidents kill over three thousand five hundredpeople around the world. And over one hundred fifty thousand people areinjured. These road accidents affect millions of people every year.
On the third Sunday in November, people all around the worldremember victims of road accidents. In 2007, the WHO released a book sharingthe stories of some of these victims. Today, we will hear three stories fromthis book.
Thefirst story is from David Blanchard. He lives in Cairo Egypt. David's daughterDeana was killed by a bus. David Bast brings us David's story.
Deanna is my daughter. She was seventeen years old when her life was cut short.The accident happened on 9 October 2003. Deana was with four friends. They weregoing to a birthday party. They had just gotten out of a taxi car, and theywere trying to cross the Nile Corniche in Maadi. The driver let them out on thewrong side of the road. It is an extremely busy street. There are no trafficlights, no crosswalks, just a never-ending flow of speeding cars, trucks andbuses.
There is really nowhere to cross the road. You have to run across several lanesof traffic to get to the other side. A speeding bus hit Deana as she crossedthe road. The bus driver did not even slow down.
I was travelling for my work at the time. My brother in lawcalled me to tell me the terrible news. You can imagine my guilt and shame. Ishould have been in Cairo. I could have driven her to the party.
I feel bad because I should have spent more time with Deana. Butthen I think that even spending twenty four hours a day with her would not havebeen enough.
Every day I drive to my office along the same road. Hundreds ofpeople cross the road there. Every day I see men, women, and children quicklymoving through the blurred maze of traffic. I hold my breath and pray that thespeeding cars do not end another life.
The Safe Road Society started because our daughter lost herlife. Its goal is to make roads in Egypt safer for its citizens. ... We hope tosave lives.
Ournext story comes from Diza Gonzaga. She lives near Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil.Ruby Jones brings us Diza's story.
On20 May, 1995, my eighteen year old son Thiago was killed. Thiago was comingback from a party between midnight and six in the morning. He was sitting inthe back seat of the car, probably without a seat-belt. The driver was aneighteen year old young man, without a driver's permit. The car hit a wastecontainer that was in the road. It was in the wrong place in the street.
An emergency vehicle arrived quickly. But both passengers werealready dead. The driver survived. A family friend called my house. Fifteenminutes later we were there. I saw my son dead, lying on the ground. I willnever forget that sight.
It was as if our family had all died together ... I stoppedworking after my son's death. I do not have the heart to work. My husbandstopped working for a month. He had difficulty teaching because he usually usedto see our son's character in his students. He still has this difficulty tenyears later. Special days are difficult for us. Christmas, birthdays, mother'sday, and even going to the store ...
Since my son's death, I have been working for a group called"Fundacao Thiago Gonzaga."... Its main goal is to encourage roadsafety. I would like to say that crashes, injuries, and deaths are apreventable tragedy in Brazil. Everyone must be involved in changing thisproblem: educators, teachers, media and doctors... We hope to prevent pain andsuffering like ours.
Finally, our last story comes from Peter Geszti. Joshua Leo shares Peter'sstory.
Weddings in my hometown of Csurgo, Hungary are a cause for great celebration.About six thousand people live in the town. It is common for a wedding to beginearly in the night and go far into the morning. Also, there is a lot of alcoholat these weddings... My sister and her husband married on August 29 2003. Mystep-brother Balazs and I stayed at the party for a long time. We probablydrank the most also.
Balazs was my step-brother but also my best friend... He wastwenty four. He was already working as a butcher, at a meat store... He alsoliked to work on his car...
At four o-clock in the morning, the wedding party ended. Myfamily was worried about Balazs' desire to drive home. I was also worried. Isuggested that he stay at my apartment, or rent a room at the hotel. Butinstead Balazs' older brother followed him as Balazs drove his car home.
Balazs arrived home safely. But shortly after that, hisgirlfriend invited him to another party. Balazs got in his car and raced to theparty. As he crossed over a small bridge, he crashed into a stone barrier. Hewas travelling at one hundred forty kilometres per hour. The speed limit wasonly fifty kilometres per hour.
Emergency care soon arrived but it was clear that Balazs haddied immediately. His body was buried a few days later... Balazs' mother wasaffected the most. She had an emotional breakdown. She went to a psychiatrichospital - a hospital for people with mental sicknesses. Still today, she needshelp to deal with the loss of her son. She visits Balazs' burial place everyday.
Balazs' crash has caused me to be more careful in almost allareas of my life. I have promised to drive more carefully. I have also promisedto never drive after drinking any amount of alcohol. I also try to educateothers about the dangers of drinking and driving. I strongly believe that thepolice should stop more people and test to see if they have been drinking anddriving. This will reduce the number of drunk driving accidents.
Roadaccidents can happen to anyone. People get killed crossing roads, riding invehicles and driving. Today, remember those who have died and been injured inroad accidents, what can you do to make roads safer?
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