什么車最適合老人開?

什么車最適合老人開?

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歲的老式車牌。這是一款四代車;她開到90多歲，我開了幾年，現在我女兒帶著她剛出生的孩子開著。我本以為這是一輛適合老年司機駕駛的完美汽車;它維護起來很便宜，省油，簡單直接，沒有復雜的電子設備，而且很容易停車。

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，我們開了5個小時的車，帶著5個幾乎全尺寸的成人和很多行李，它從來沒有出現過問題。(我是后排的中間乘客，我只是有點抱怨。)

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，我非常憤怒。我對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、盲點監(jiān)控、剎車輔助和行人檢測。”其他的建議是吉普切諾基和豐田高地車，我認為所有的車都太高、太難停車、太貴，而且像其他suv一樣，太致命;行人被SUV或皮卡車撞死的幾率是普通汽車的三倍。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，有些人的活動范圍有限，所以備用攝像頭、平行泊車助手、前后傳感器讓生活變得更容易。為了以防萬一，安全氣囊無處不在，但要確保它們是“雙級和雙閥值安全氣囊，因為如果安全氣囊部署的力度過大，資深司機可能會受傷。”

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年就開始推廣汽車了，而且似乎沒有一項他們不喜歡的新技術。很明顯，所有這些高科技的附加組件都能帶來不同，但它們加起來會讓一輛車變得非常昂貴，保養(yǎng)費用也很高。

Consumer Reports likes little SUVs

《消費者報告》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，因為“年紀較大的司機可能不再每天通勤上班，但他們可能需要一輛車來進行長途公路旅行，或者在去接孫子孫女的時候可以輕松地放一個汽車座椅。”我必須指出，汽車座椅適合任何汽車，包括后座的回聲。但是，好吧，我同意“無論如何，一輛進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《消費者報告》和其他一些雜志從來沒有提到氣候變化這個小問題，建議減少四輪驅動的燃油效率，這樣我們的老司機就能“準備好冒險”。沒有尼桑聆風或其他小巧的電動汽車，它們操作成本低廉，適合短途旅行。

Planning for 'driver retirement'

“司機退休”計劃

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.

我在寫這篇文章的時候，不能不提到另一種選擇:扔掉車鑰匙。還有其他的方法，你必須提前計劃。AAA的特蕾西·e·諾布爾寫道，“老年人平均比安全駕駛年限多活7到10年，現在必須開始為他們的“駕駛退休”做計劃，就像他們?yōu)樨攧胀诵葑鲇媱澮粯印?rdquo;這些新的汽車技術可能會稍微延長你的駕駛年限，但在某個時候，你會陷入困境。

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，我知道我和我周圍的每一個人都更安全，當我步行，在電車，或在我的新電動自行車上時。更多的人應該考慮這些選擇。