NHTSA Warns Drivers Not to Play Pokemon Go and Drive

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Part of a safety ad by the Tennessee Highway Safety Office

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration warned drivers July 8 not to play the megahit augmented reality game Pokemon Go while driving.

NHTSA听tweeted, 鈥淪tay safe on the roads, don鈥檛 #PokemonGo and drive. #justdrive.鈥

Other safety organizations echoed NHTSA鈥檚 warnings, including the Tennessee Highway Safety Office, which released an ad telling drivers to 鈥淲ait to GO until you鈥檝e stopped.鈥

The game, which lets users track down virtual Pokemons in their vicinity, has topped the free-to-download app charts for Apple in the United States and Australia since its July 7 debut, according to market researcher App Annie, Bloomberg News reported.



As a sign of the game鈥檚 broad appeal, people are going to great lengths to play Pokemon Go, which encourages users to wander their surroundings to find 鈥減ocket monsters鈥 to train and battle with each other. Reports have surfaced of players driving for hours to seek hard-to-reach Pokemons, or a pair of gamers in New Zealand renting a kayak to nab one in the middle of Wellingtons Bay, according to Bloomberg.

The game does include a warning for players to 鈥渞emember to be alert鈥 at all times. Police in New Castle, Delaware, warned drivers not to play while driving 鈥斕淧ls no #PokemonGO and #driving! It's not safe! Be aware of your surroundings and #gottacatchemall.鈥

A late-night hunt for Pokemons in Missouri led some players into a trap set up by armed robbers, local media reported.