TOKYO (TR) – According to the National Police Agency, officers have cited more than 1,000 players of Pokemon Go for traffic infractions since the launch of the popular smartphone game one month ago, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Aug. 23).
In the one-month period since July 22, there have been 1,140 citations issued to persons playing the game and operating a vehicle, motorcycle or bicycle. As well, players of the game had caused 79 accidents, with 22 of them resulting in injury.
On August 11, a man operating a vehicle while playing the game struck a female bicyclist in Kasugai City, Aichi Prefecture. The woman sustained serious injuries. The driver was subsequently arrested on charges of accidental infliction of injury.
Approximately 95 percent of the 1,140 cases involved persons looking at a smartphone screen while driving. In other incidents, drivers of vehicles ran red lights.
“Operating a vehicle while looking at a smartphone is very dangerous. We want everyone to stop unconditionally,” a representative of the police is quoted by the Yomiuri Shimbun (Aug. 23).
