The Indian government may use 3-D paintings as virtual speed-breakers on major highways and roads, in a bid to check speeding and rash driving, and ultimately make its deadly roads a little safer.

    "We are trying out 3-D paintings used as virtual speed breakers to avoid unnecessary requirements of speed breakers," India's transport minister Nitin Gadkari tweeted.

    The optical illusions are supposed to encourage drivers to slow down automatically. Earlier this month, India had ordered the removal of all speed breakers from highways, which are considered to be a safety hazard for high-speed vehicles.

    India has the highest number of road accident deaths in the world. According to the World Health Organization, over 200,000 people are killed by road accidents due to poor implementation of road safety laws. This is considerably higher than its official figures of 141,526 for 2014.

    The use of optical illusions as speed breakers was first pioneered in the American city of Philadelphia in 2008, as part of a campaign against speeding motorists. The technique has also been tried out in China to create floating 3-D crossings.

    In India, cities such as Ahmedabad and Chennai have already experimented with 3-D zebra crossings in the last one year. In Ahmedabad for instance, a mother-daughter artist duo painted 3-D crosswalks in the first few months of 2016. The artists say their motto is "to increase the attention of drivers," and that the concept has been successfully tested in accident-prone zones on a highway.

    However, critics argue that once drivers know that these speed breakers are visual illusions, they may ignore them. Others also point out that India's decision does not consider the safety of a large number of pedestrians. In the end, the new policy may be just one step towards improving road safety.

    Words to Learn 相关词汇

    鲁莽的

    lǔmǎng de

    rash

    acting or tending to act too hastily or without due consideration

    错觉

    cuòjué

    illusion

    something that deceives by producing a false or misleading impression of reality

    印度3D斑马线提醒减速慢行

    为了抑制超速、鲁莽驾驶等行为，并最终让杀手马路变得安全，印度政府可能要在主要公路和街道设置3D图案，作为虚拟减速装置。

    印度交通部长尼廷·格德卡里发推文称：“我们尝试3D图案作为虚拟减速装置，以降低对不必要的减速带的使用。”

    这种视觉幻象手法有望让司机自动减速。本月早些时候，印度下令拆除公路上的所有减速带，减速带被认为造成了机动车行驶的安全隐患。

    印度是世界上交通事故死亡人数最多的国家。根据世界卫生组织的数据，由于道路安全法规实施不规范，印度有20多万人死于交通肇事。该数字远远高于印度2014年官方公布的141526的死亡人数。

    2008年，作为防止机动车超速的举措之一，美国费城最先将视觉幻象用作减速装置。中国也曾试行悬浮的3D斑马线。

    艾哈迈达巴德和金奈等印度城市过去一年已开始试行3D斑马线。以艾哈迈达巴德为例，今年前几个月，一对艺术家母女就绘制出了3D人行道。她们表示，此举能够“提醒司机注意”，而且这种概念已在事故多发的路段测试成功。

    不过，批评者认为，一旦司机知道这种减速带是眼睛的幻觉，那么他们就可能会忽略这些装置。还有人指出，印度政府的决定没有考虑到广大行人的安全。最终，这种新政策或许只是向提高道路安全的方向迈了一小步。