Pokémon Go leading to deaths
https://www.axios.com/pokemon-go-health-effects-traffic-incidents-2511094865.html
Traffic accidents — including fatalities — surged after the release of Pokemon Go, according to a new study. The research suggests that people driving while also trying to catch 'em all "gave rise to a disproportionate increase in vehicular crashes, injuries, and fatalities in the vicinity of PokéStops."
Why it matters: The number of total auto accidents and the number of fatal accidents are both already increasing — as are the number of accidents attributed to distracted driving, according to federal data. And the market for augmented-reality apps is only expected to keep growing.
The details: Researchers at Purdue University combed through nearly 12,000 police reports for traffic accidents in Tippecanoe County, Indiana — where Purdue is located. After controlling for traffic, Purdue's schedule of academic breaks and other variables, here's what they found:
In the first few months after Pokemon Go was released, there were more auto accidents in locations that become home to "PokeStops."
The county experienced an overall increase in car crashes in the first few months after Pokemon Go was released; the authors attribute 47% of that jump to the app.
"The county would have experienced two fewer traffic fatalities had Pokémon GO not been introduced," the study says. It also attributes roughly 31 injuries and $500,000 in vehicular damage to the game.
If you tried to extrapolate the study's findings nationwide, Pokemon Go would be on the hook for roughly 145,000 crashes, 30,000 injuries and 256 deaths, the authors said, though they acknowledge that extrapolation is "speculative."
Answers
And Niantic themselves tell people to not play while driving, there's even that annoying message popping up (which these people will just disregard and only get into more trouble anyway).
And in spite of these movements, these people will still do this. Heck I saw a woman texting and driving just yesterday. And yes there can be innocent victims, as with most accidents. Will they be saved? Not really, the only way they could be saved is if all phones were made illegal, but then we get into trouble just like what happened with making alcohol illegal.
By far most people I see using their phone have Whatsapp open, or another messenging app. And those I see driving with phone in their hands or staring at their lap probably are not playing Pokémon GO either. That makes me believe that the problem revealed in this study is actually more than 10 times larger.
It sounds like their data is also before the speed locks were added in. It is still possible to play while driving, but you would need to be driving much slower, and low speed collisions are less likely to lead to serious injuries.
There will always be something to distract us though. Ultimately, the answer to distracted driving will be self-driving cars. Then we can eat, talk on cell phone, read, play games, sleep, put on makeup, or whatever else we can come up with.
Wow!
A game that can drive a car...badly.
Seriously, why can't people accept that it is their fault if they aren't taking proper precautions when driving?
As for the death toll going up...most other parts of the world have had a road death toll that is consistently dropping for the last 20+ years.
The biggest shock for me is that this data says it is climbing anyway...in America at least.
I don't think is anything but speculative. Look at the number of overall traffic deaths over the years. They are on a downward trend. And it's stayed downward since cell phones have gone from rare to everywhere. I am aware that we have seen a bump in 2015 and 2016, but I was texting and driving before that.
My point is that cars are the direct cause for auto accidents. Get rid of cars, and the number drops to zero. Get rid of cell phones or pokemon go. Do you really believe that the number of collisions is going to plummet downward at an even faster rate? It's safer to drive a car than ever before.
