As we have emphasized before, playing Pokémon Go while driving is stupid. It puts everybody on the road at risk, and Pokémon Go is dangerous enough already without adding cars into the mix. Unfortunately, a Japanese driver has decided to prove just how stupid it is by causing a tragedy, killing a senior citizen and severely injuring another.
CNN is reporting that a farmer in Tokushima Prefecture was playing the game while driving and didn’t notice two elderly women crossing the road until it was too late. One has a broken hip and is hospitalized, while the other tragically died. Unfortunately, accidents involving the game appear to be on the rise in Japan; while this was the first fatal accident, it was the 79th so far where Pokémon Go was involved, with the first happening just hours after the game came out in Japan.
This just emphasizes how dangerous distracted driving really is. In the U.S. alone, distracted driving kills nine people a day and injures more than a thousand. Whether it’s chatting on your phone or trying to get that Rattata that seems immune even to your Great Balls, it’s not worth it. Save the game for playing on foot, for everyone’s safety.
(Via The Verge)