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.