A recent study showed that augmented reality game Pokemon Go is a big distraction for drivers and more than 1,10,000 instances have occurred in the last 10 days where drivers or pedestrians were distracted while playing the game.
According to the investigation, John Ayers from San Diego State University, who led a team of investigators to compile the study, said that motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among 16-24 age group, and the game appeals most to this group.
While the game has perfectly managed to engross youngsters, there have been a lot of accidents recorded due to this game. In one instance, a man from Mumbai got hit by an auto riskshaw while he was playing the game.
The study conducted by Ayers and his team showed that there were 14 unique car crashes that happened due to the game between July 10 – July 19, 2016.
Out of 4,000 tweets amassed during the period for the study, the team discovered that 33 per cent of tweets indicated that a driver, passenger or pedestrian was distracted by Pokemon Go, suggesting there were 113,993 total incidences reported on Twitter in just 10 days.
Another supporting research shows that 60 per cent of accidents among young drivers occur within six seconds of being distracted. The findings will be a great boost for Pokemon Go developers, who can use this to frame new guidelines to minimise this grave risk.
