PokemonGo, the New Trend Causing Accidents
PokemonGo is the latest new app that’s taking young drivers’ eyes off the road and causing accidents. The app allows users to capture Pokemon hidden among their real-time environments through their smart phones. Instead of being on the lookout for oncoming cars, users are more focused on looking out for new Pokemon to add to their collection.
How PokemonGo is causing dist
racted driving and car accidents
The more places PokemonGo users go, the more Pokemon they find. This makes trying to catch more Pokemon while driving extremely appealing and extremely dangerous. PokemonGo has become so addicting that some users will do almost anything to catch a new Pokemon, so taking their eyes off the road doesn’t come at much of a price to them, until an accident happens.
On average, a person who texts and drives takes their eyes off the road for five seconds at a time. That’s long enough to drive the length of a football field at 55 miles per hour. PokemonGo requires users to take their eyes off the road for even longer and many accidents have been caused by it already.
- In New York, a man was driving while playing the game when he got distracted, drove off the road, and slammed into a tree. He was taken to a hospital with minor injuries.
- A 15-year-old Pennsylvania girl was hit by a car as she was walked onto a busy highway while paying attention to her phone instead of oncoming traffic. The girl suffered an injured collarbone and foot as well some bruising.
- Two Canadian police officers were injured when two people backed into their cruiser. The two people reportedly got out of the car and immediately said, “I’m sorry, I was playing ‘Pokemon Go.’”
PokemonGo is the most popular app to date and with the mass numbers of people flocking to catch ‘em all, the number of car accidents caused by this game will only increase.
Photo courtesy of David Grandmougin by Unsplash
