A police body camera captured a Pokémon Go player crashing a Toyota Rav 4 into a police car in Baltimore. The police officers were outside of the patrol vehicle when it was hit on the 2900 block of Eastern Avenue.
The driver of the Rav 4 told the officers that he was looking down playing the Pokémon Go game.
#PokemonGO is not all fun and games. Here is a video of a distracted driver who struck one of our cars. #PlaySafe pic.twitter.com/kOTfbTcILo
— Baltimore Police (@BaltimorePolice) July 19, 2016
It seems Pokemon Go players are not heading the Twitter warning of NHTSA:
Eyes up, Poké Balls down, people.
Stay safe on the roads, don’t #PokemonGo and drive. #justdrive pic.twitter.com/0zXXNr6n1i
— NHTSA (@NHTSAgov) July 8, 2016
Another Twitter warning came from Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department:
#Adulting can be hard; we know you can do it! #DontTrainAndDrive#PokemonGO#PokemonSTOPpic.twitter.com/7Pw4a6vvpU
— AHTD (@AHTD) July 18, 2016
This is a second crash reported in the media caused by Pokémon Go playing while driving. If the company would disable the game while driving they could have less strain on their servers and also save lives.
Meanwhile, there’s a SERVER UPDATE: Some players who have been able to log into #PokemonGO have reported Pokéstops are sometimes not appearing and/or working.
Pokémon Go Servers @PoGoServer 1 hour ago;
At this time, all regions are still offline. If you are able to get in, do not use any lures, lucky eggs or incense.
While there are suggestions that players get rewarded for not Pokémoning while driving, it would be far safer and more ethical to not allow use at fast speeds, ever. Since many of the players are very young, it is better not to tempt them. The app warns of use while driving while users can gain more points by cruising in cars looking for Pokémon.
58% of Pokemon Go players are in the 18-to-24 age range, while another 38 percent is comprised of 25-to-30-year-old players, according to Vox.