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Pedestrians walking with their heads down, too busy looking at their phones to see the impending catastrophe awaiting them, have become the unwitting stars of a new awareness campaign - but not for the reasons they might think.
有些行人走路时忙着埋头看手机，根本没有发现灾难即将找上门来。他们无意间成了一场新的交通意识宣传活动的明星。但是原因和他们想得有所不同。
While their hilarious calamities, including one woman who walks straight into a bus stop and a man who falls into a pond, are laugh-out-loud funny, their care-free attitude to their own safety has been used to highlight the dangers of texting while driving.
虽然低头族身上发生的滑稽事故让人忍俊不禁，比如，一名女子径直撞上公交站，而一名男子掉进了池塘，但他们对自身安全不负责任的态度却被用来突显开车发短信的危险性。
In a campaign put forward by South Africa's Western Cape Government, the short, and extremely powerful, video begins with circus music fitting to watching people run into things because they're too busy texting. It's hilarious.
这场宣传活动由南非西开普政府发起。视频简短却极为震撼。一开始，在欢乐的音乐声中可以看到人们因为忙着发短信而撞上各种东西。画面很搞笑。
But the video takes a sudden serious turn, pointing out that if one can't walk while texting, they probably shouldn't try driving either.
但是，画风突然变得严肃起来，视频中写道，如果人们走路时不能发短信，那么开车时更不应该这么做。
The video is running as part of the Western Cape Government's traffic safety efforts and #ItCanwait campaign, aimed at spreading awareness of the dangers of texting while driving.
作为西开普政府交通安全工作和#ItCanwait（#可以等等）活动的一部分，这段视频的目的是让人们意识到开车发短信的危害。
'No call or text is worth your life,' the campaign states on its website, which equally notes the increase in traffic crashes caused by distracted driving, including cellphone use at the wheel.
该活动官网写道：“没有任何电话或短信比你的生命更重要”，并提到开车玩手机等分心驾驶行为引发的车祸数量有所增加。
Research conducted in 2009 by Pew Research Centre found that 26 percent of all American teens, ages 16 to 17, were texting when driving, causing concern as most incidents of distracted driving occur in those belonging to younger age groups.
皮尤研究中心2009年进行的一项调查发现，16岁至17岁的美国青少年中，有26%的人开车时发短信，大多数分心驾驶行为都发生在年轻人身上，这一调查结果引起关注。
In 2015, a report by the National Occupant Protection Use Survey echoed that, stating that handheld use was still the highest among 16-24-year-old drivers.
2015年，“全国乘客保护使用调查”报告得出了类似的结论，报告称，开车玩手机最多的仍是16-24岁的司机。
Laws to deter people from texting at the wheel have been implemented across the globe.
全世界都颁布实施了禁止开车发短信的法律。
Earlier this year, Britain doubled penalties for those caught texting behind the wheel - fines of ￡200 and six points on a license now exist. Many have said the law does not go far enough.
今年早些时候，英国对开车发短信司机的进行加倍处罚，现在罚款200英镑扣6分。许多人认为该项法律还远远不够。
The law, which came into effect on March 1, also sees the license instantly revoked if violations are made by new drivers who have been on the road for under two years.
这项法律于3月1日生效，还规定，如果驾龄在两年内的新手司机违规，那么将被立即吊销驾照。
Just after the law had passed, a female motorist was caught taking selfies driving down a busy motorway in Birmingham.
该法律刚刚通过，伯明翰一条繁华的机动车道上就出现一位开车自拍的女子。
Richard Browning, Director at Nextbase, the UK's largest manufacturer of Dash Cams, had said: 'This is one of the most extreme cases of someone using their phone whilst driving that I've ever seen.'
英国最大的行车记录仪生产商Nextbase负责人理查德?布朗宁表示：“这是我见过最过分的开车玩手机的行为之一。”
It is unknown whether the young motorist was convicted, but another video released near the same time shows why paying attention at the wheel is critical - one moment a young girl is singing to Adele, the next she's in an accident where she later dies.
目前还不清楚这名年轻司机是否被定罪，但同一时期发布的另一则视频显示，一名年轻女孩前一刻还在哼唱阿黛尔的歌，下一刻就遭遇车祸身亡。这段视频告诉人们，为什么开车时集中精神至关重要。
The woman was using Snapchat on her smartphone and even took the time to write the caption 'Boring drive, time for a tune'.
这个女孩当时正在用手机玩儿Snapchat，甚至还花时间写了一段标题“开车真无聊，来段小曲。”
The incident caused Derbyshire Police to start the campaign #Don'tStreamandDrive.
该起事故让德比郡警方发起了#不要边玩手机边驾驶运动。
