Drivers Playing Pokémon Go Caused Up To $7.8 Billion In Damages From Car Crashes
November 27, 2017 in Daily Bulletin
The Pokémon Go craze peaked a little over a year ago. Economists have since had time to crunch some numbers:
- A review of accident reports in an Indiana county found that 148 days after the game was released there were $5 – $26 million in damages from car crashes, likely as a result of people playing the game while driving.
- This includes two lost lives. Scale that across the United States and you get damages as high as $7.3 billion.
- Crashes were particularly high around Pokéstops – places where people could go to stock up on virtual supplies.
- The game did take some steps to prevent this. Players who were moving too fast were blocked from battling in gyms.
Read more on The Verge.
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