Ohio State Highway Patrol Tweets: Don't Pokemon and Drive!

Pokemon Go. Just when police thought cell phones were distracting enough. The country is crazing over this app game that lets people use their phones to “locate” pokemon all around their cities in important spots. People are addicted to trying to “catch ‘em all”. Surely you’ve seen them by now, people with eyes glued on their phones to try to capture these little cartoon creatures.

Ohio Police: Pokemon No

Well Ohio state police and other officials are saying “Pokemon No”. People are so focused on catching pokemon that they are not paying attention to their surroundings and playing this game in unsafe situations. There have been reports of individuals luring players to locations where they would then rob them. People are even playing Pokemon Go while they are driving. Yes, it’s true. One driver in Auburn, New York drove into a tree while playing the game. In Baltimore, another driver crashed into a cop car while attempting to drive and play Pokemon Go at the same time. Not only is this embarrassing on oh-so-many levels, it highlights the dangers of distracted driving.

Distracted Driving Leads to Accidents and Injuries

Distracted driving has been a common problem on the roads since cars have been invented, but with the growing complexity of society and technology, the ways in which a person could get distracted from the road have grown exponentially. Some common distractors include:

• Talking on the phone
• Texting
• Distracted by children or other occupants in the car
• Fiddling with the radio
• Not paying attention to signs
• Eating or drinking
• Moving objects such as insects or pets
• Reaching for objects in the car
• Gawking at an outside person, object, or rubber-necking at an event
• Being lost in thought

Now we can add Pokemon Go. Ohio police are asking people to drive safely and keep their eyes on the road. Police and politicians have already been concerned about texting and driving, evidenced by the initiative elsewhere to offer police “textalyzers” to catch people who text and drive. This type of phone activity could be the next thing that has people staring at their phones and not the road.

Drive Safely, Pay Attention to the Road

No imaginary creature is worth injuring or killing yourself or someone else. Even where there is no bodily injury, it isn’t even worth wrecking your car, so use caution. Leave the fun to appropriate times and places.

Wolfe Legal Services provides professional and trusted legal counseling and representation for the residents of Ohio. Our full service law firm offers 20 years of experience in litigation, dealing with law enforcement, trials, motions, and criminal defense. Call us today at (614) 263-5297 for a free consultation.