什么車(chē)最適合老人開(kāi)?

什么車(chē)最適合老人開(kāi)?

That's my late mom's 2000 Toyota Echo, with her 45-year-old vintage license plates. It's a four-generation car; she drove it into her 90s, then I drove it for a few years and now my daughter drives it with her brand new baby. I would have thought it was the perfect car for older drivers; it's cheap to maintain, gets great gas mileage, simple and straightforward with no complicated electronics, and it's really easy to park.

那是我已故母親一輛豐田Echo2000，上面掛著她45歲的老式車(chē)牌。這是一款四代車(chē);她開(kāi)到90多歲，我開(kāi)了幾年，現(xiàn)在我女兒帶著她剛出生的孩子開(kāi)著。我本以為這是一輛適合老年司機(jī)駕駛的完美汽車(chē);它維護(hù)起來(lái)很便宜，省油，簡(jiǎn)單直接，沒(méi)有復(fù)雜的電子設(shè)備，而且很容易停車(chē)。

A four-generation car that started with my late mom. (Photo: Lloyd Alter)

It always surprised me with what it could do. We drove it with five mostly full-sized adults and a lot of luggage for five hours from Toronto to Montreal and it never complained. (I was the middle passenger in the back seat, and I just complained a bit.)

它的能力總是讓我驚訝。從多倫多到蒙特利爾，我們開(kāi)了5個(gè)小時(shí)的車(chē)，帶著5個(gè)幾乎全尺寸的成人和很多行李，它從來(lái)沒(méi)有出現(xiàn)過(guò)問(wèn)題。(我是后排的中間乘客，我只是有點(diǎn)抱怨。)

This is a car for aging boomers? (Photo: Kevauto [CC BY-SA 4.0]/Wikipedia)

So when I recently saw an article titled 5 most popular 2019 SUVs for seniors, I was outraged. I'm no fan of SUVs for anyone, and their top pick is a big, expensive Acura SUV with all the new electronics including "a wide variety of safety features including a rearview camera, blind spot monitoring, brake assist, and pedestrian detection." Other recommendations were Jeep Cherokees and Toyota Highlanders, all monsters that I thought would be too high, too hard to park, too expensive and like other SUVs, too deadly; pedestrians are three times as likely to die if hit by an SUV or pickup truck than they are if hit by a regular car. I was seriously ready to rant.

所以，當(dāng)我最近看到一篇名為《2019年最受歡迎的5款老年人suv》的文章時(shí)，我非常憤怒。我對(duì)SUV不感興趣，他們最喜歡的是一款又大又貴的謳歌SUV，配備了“各種各樣的安全功能，包括后視鏡、盲點(diǎn)監(jiān)控、剎車(chē)輔助和行人檢測(cè)。”其他的建議是吉普切諾基和豐田高地車(chē)，我認(rèn)為所有的車(chē)都太高、太難停車(chē)、太貴，而且像其他suv一樣，太致命;行人被SUV或皮卡車(chē)撞死的幾率是普通汽車(chē)的三倍。我真想大喊大叫。

AAA likes fancy new smart tech

AAA喜歡新奇的智能科技

As we get older, some people have limited range of motions, so backup cameras, parallel park assistance, front and rear sensors make life easier. And just in case, airbags everywhere, but be sure that they are "Dual-stage and dual-threshold airbags, because senior drivers risk injury if airbags deploy with too much force."

隨著年齡的增長(zhǎng)，有些人的活動(dòng)范圍有限，所以備用攝像頭、平行泊車(chē)助手、前后傳感器讓生活變得更容易。為了以防萬(wàn)一，安全氣囊無(wú)處不在，但要確保它們是“雙級(jí)和雙閥值安全氣囊，因?yàn)槿绻踩珰饽也渴鸬牧Χ冗^(guò)大，資深司機(jī)可能會(huì)受傷。”

AAA does good research, but they've been around since 1902 promoting automobiles, and there doesn't seem to be a new technology they don't love. It's clear all of these high-tech add-ons can make a difference, but they all add up to make a car very expensive and high-maintenance.

AAA做了很好的研究，但是他們從1902年就開(kāi)始推廣汽車(chē)了，而且似乎沒(méi)有一項(xiàng)他們不喜歡的新技術(shù)。很明顯，所有這些高科技的附加組件都能帶來(lái)不同，但它們加起來(lái)會(huì)讓一輛車(chē)變得非常昂貴，保養(yǎng)費(fèi)用也很高。

Consumer Reports likes little SUVs

《消費(fèi)者報(bào)告》喜歡小型suv

They like the mini-SUVs because "older drivers may no longer commute to work every day, but they might need a car for longer road trips or one that can easily fit a car seat when it’s time to pick up the grandkids." I have to note that car seats fit in any car, including the back seat of the Echo. But OK, I agree that "either way, a vehicle that’s a breeze to get into and out of is a must."

他們喜歡迷你suv，因?yàn)?ldquo;年紀(jì)較大的司機(jī)可能不再每天通勤上班，但他們可能需要一輛車(chē)來(lái)進(jìn)行長(zhǎng)途公路旅行，或者在去接孫子孫女的時(shí)候可以輕松地放一個(gè)汽車(chē)座椅。”我必須指出，汽車(chē)座椅適合任何汽車(chē)，包括后座的回聲。但是，好吧，我同意“無(wú)論如何，一輛進(jìn)出都很容易的交通工具是必須的。”

My wife's Subaru, smaller than a Forester but big enough for us. (Photo: Lloyd Alter)

But Consumer Reports and the others never mention the small matter of climate change, recommending less fuel-efficient 4-wheel drive so that our older drivers are "ready for adventure." No Nissan Leaf or other little electric car that's cheap to operate and great for short trips.

但是《消費(fèi)者報(bào)告》和其他一些雜志從來(lái)沒(méi)有提到氣候變化這個(gè)小問(wèn)題，建議減少四輪驅(qū)動(dòng)的燃油效率，這樣我們的老司機(jī)就能“準(zhǔn)備好冒險(xiǎn)”。沒(méi)有尼桑聆風(fēng)或其他小巧的電動(dòng)汽車(chē)，它們操作成本低廉，適合短途旅行。

Planning for 'driver retirement'

“司機(jī)退休”計(jì)劃

In Copenhagen, a lot of people ride e-bikes, including me. It's a mode of transportation many seniors should consider. (Photo: With permission to Lloyd Alter)

And I just couldn't write this post without mentioning that other alternative, which I'm trying and have discussed before: throw away the car keys. There are other ways to get around, and you have to plan ahead. Tracy E. Noble of AAA writes that "seniors are outliving their safe driving years by an average of seven to 10 years, and must now start planning for their “driving retirement,” much the same as they plan for their financial retirement." These new car technologies may extend those driving years a bit, but at some point, you are stuck.

我在寫(xiě)這篇文章的時(shí)候，不能不提到另一種選擇:扔掉車(chē)鑰匙。還有其他的方法，你必須提前計(jì)劃。AAA的特蕾西·e·諾布爾寫(xiě)道，“老年人平均比安全駕駛年限多活7到10年，現(xiàn)在必須開(kāi)始為他們的“駕駛退休”做計(jì)劃，就像他們?yōu)樨?cái)務(wù)退休做計(jì)劃一樣。”這些新的汽車(chē)技術(shù)可能會(huì)稍微延長(zhǎng)你的駕駛年限，但在某個(gè)時(shí)候，你會(huì)陷入困境。

I know my limitations, and I know that I and everyone around me is safer when I'm on foot, on the streetcar, or on my new e-bike. More people should consider those options.

我知道我的局限性，我知道我和我周?chē)拿恳粋€(gè)人都更安全，當(dāng)我步行，在電車(chē)，或在我的新電動(dòng)自行車(chē)上時(shí)。更多的人應(yīng)該考慮這些選擇。