VOA慢速英语：美国交通官员提醒，注意电动汽车的重量

As electric vehicles become more popular in the United States, a government safety expert is expressing concern about the automobiles.

随着电动汽车在美国越来越流行，一位政府安全专家对汽车表示担忧。

Jennifer Homendy runs the National Transportation Safety Board, or NTSB. In a recent speech, she noted that manufacturers are making electric cars heavier and heavier.

詹妮弗·霍门迪是国家运输安全委员会(NTSB)的负责人。在最近的一次演讲中，她指出，制造商正在制造越来越重的电动汽车。

This is a problem in crashes with lighter, traditional cars.

这是轻型传统汽车事故中的一个问题。

She gave the example of one large vehicle called a Hummer. The automobile's design is based on military vehicles. The new electric Hummer weighs about 4,000 kilograms. The battery that powers it weighs 1,300 kilograms. The battery alone is heavier than the Honda Civic, a small Japanese car with a traditional engine.

她举了一个叫悍马的大型车辆的例子。这种汽车的设计基于军用车辆。新型电动悍马重约4000公斤。为它供电的电池重达1300公斤。仅电池一项就比采用传统发动机的日本小型车本田思域重。

Homendy said she is worried about "increased risk of severe injury and death for all road users." She noted the size and power of the newer vehicles.

霍门迪表示，她担心“道路使用者重伤和死亡的风险增加”。她还注意到新型车辆的尺寸和功率。

The electric vehicles need large, heavy batteries in order to travel the longer distances many drivers seek. Experts say it will take years to develop smaller batteries that provide the same result.

电动汽车需要大而重的电池，以便行驶许多司机寻求的更长距离。专家们表示，开发能提供相同效果的小型电池，还需要数年时间。

Homendy said she is pleased that President Joe Biden wants to reduce the number of vehicles that harm the environment. But she is still concerned about the risk from heavy vehicles.

霍门迪表示，她很高兴总统希望减少危害环境的车辆数量。但她仍然担心重型车辆带来的风险。

"We have to be careful that we aren't also creating unintended consequences," she said.

她说：“我们必须小心，不要造成意想不到的后果。”。

Some of the new electric vehicles that are expected to be popular include Ford's F-150 truck and Mustang Mach E. She said they are hundreds of kilograms heavier than their gasoline-powered versions.

一些预计会流行的新电动车包括福特的F-150卡车和野马Mach E。她说，它们比汽油动力版本重数百公斤。

The NTSB investigates accidents but does not make rules. New rules must come from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

NTSB负责调查事故，但不制定规则。新规则必须来自国家公路交通安全管理局。

Michael Brooks runs the Center for Auto Safety. He has the same concerns as Homendy. He said there has been little research about the growing weight of electric vehicles. He pointed to a 2011 study that showed a crash including a vehicle with about 500 extra kilograms increased the chances of death by 47 percent.

迈克尔·布鲁克斯掌管汽车安全中心。他和霍门迪有同样的担忧。他说，关于电动汽车重量不断增加的研究很少。他指出，2011年的一项研究表明，包括一辆额外负重约500公斤的车辆在内的撞车事故，导致死亡的几率增加47%。

That study does not take into account design changes that make it hard to see from the new electric vehicles. He also said the electric vehicles can reach top speed faster than gas-powered cars.

这项研究没有考虑到设计上的变化，这些变化使人们很难从新的电动汽车中看到。他还表示，电动汽车可以比汽油动力汽车更快地达到最高速度。

"These bigger, heavier batteries are going to cause more damage," Brooks said. "It's a simple matter of mass and speed."

布鲁克斯说：“这些更大、更重的电池会造成更大的损害。”。“这是一个简单的质量和速度问题。”

The number of electric vehicles sold in the U.S. in 2022 rose by almost 65 percent compared to the year before. They now make up nearly six percent of new vehicles on the road. The number of vehicles with heavy batteries will only grow. Biden's administration wants electric vehicles to be 50 percent of all new vehicles sold by 2030.

与前一年相比，2022年美国电动汽车销量增长了近65%。现在，它们占上路新车的近6%。使用重型电池的车辆数量只会增加。美国政府希望到2030年，电动汽车占所有新车销量的50%。

I'm Dan Friedell.

丹·弗里德尔报道。