Never Poke and Drive Mon! / PokeSafety And You.

It cannot be argued that Pokemon Go is probably the best Augmented Reality game ever. Ingress is a lot of fun but does not provide the random encounters to keep players engaged like Pokemon Go does.

With these random encounters and opportunities to trap new and exotic Pokemon also new opportunities arise which could result in serious injury or death to yourself and others. Since the release of AR games combined with distracted driving there is no shortage of Darwin awards being handed out on a daily basis.

How to prevent yourself from receiving the Darwin award as result of all of your attempted Pokemon Go conquests.

Never Poke and Drive Mon
     While playing Ingress my friends and I quickly learned that there is no safe way to play Augmented Reality games safely while operating an automobile. I am guilty myself of leaving the game open while driving. Every now and again I get a notification that an opportunity to capture a Pokemon presents itself. When this happens I fight the urge to make an attempt to start the fight. I have gotten really good at capturing Pokemon on the first throw but the distraction and the risk is to great. So far there have been no reports of a car accident involving distracted driving due to Pokemon Go, but its just a matter of time before it happens. Just be sure that its not you, a loved one or any of your friends who kill themselves or someone else in the name of Pokemon Go. In short dont drive and Pokemon. If you are having a driving PokeParty please have a designated PokeDriver...


Do Not Cross The Street in a Distracted Manner

     Kids and adults alike have a tendency to not look both ways while crossing the street. We might be caught up in a facebook update, Ingress, a hot text message and now thankfully another distraction we have while walking is Pokemon Go. I have noticed the game will allow you to start the capture process and then walk to a safe location to complete the battle. With this being said you should never be looking at your phone or mobile device when crossing the street. Look both ways and always stay alert to your surroundings. Even if you are not a distracted pedestrian here is the risk of crossing the street..

Risk of Dying next year: 
Transport Accidents
Pedestrian    1 in 47,273

So with that being said I guarantee crossing the street distracted will increase your odds of death. How many streets do you cross in a year? 1000+?.?.? Now lets do that same task 1000+ times while not paying attention. The odds will be even greater that you will die and because of it you will lose that Pokemon you were hunting.

Do Not Trespass 

     Not only is it Illegal but people have a tendency to get very protective of their property. Especially Pokemon poaching.... If someone steps on my land and attempts to poach my rare Pokemon they can expect 1 warning shot, but not all are as nice as me. Not everyone in the world knows about Pokemon Go, and those who do and choose not to play might not take to kindly to people trespassing on their land. I have noticed that there will be indication of Pokemon lurking in the grass in private property. It is like the week before X-mas and you know where the presents are just you do not know what is inside. Is the risk of opening the presents worth the reward, or does the fear of punishment win this moral dilemma? In real life people get shot and killed. Here in Colorado there is a thing called "Make My Day". What this means is I can legally shoot people who are perceived to be breaking and entering and will not respond to directions to leave immediately. That is the law and the law will protect a Pokemon Go player to some extent but its a little to late if you have been killed trying to capture that Pikachu in old farmer Bill's bills corn field. It does not matter if he is found guilty of murder in a court of law, you are still dead, and you still did not manage to capture that rare Pokemon.  

Stay Out of Parks If They Close
     This is a rule which I got from Ingress. It would make players very angry if you captured portals after a park has closed for the night. This is because you are technically breaking the law to play the game. Being in a park in late hours of the night does not present a safety risk but it does potentially present a legal risk. Its better to not add to law enforcement work loads from you looking suspicious in a park late at night. This way they can spend their time capturing criminals instead of shaking down Pokemon Go players. Also with how the police have been shooting so many people lately a cell phone could easily be mistaken for a gun. Better just avoid the whole situation, because again you the Pokemon Go player will be on the losing side. I cannot emphasize enough Police officers are our friends, they have a very hard job and protect law abiding citizens like you and me and keep us safe. Do not make their life harder then it has to be and just avoid this situation altogether....

Do Not Antagonize Other Players
     To some people this is more then a game. I have read reports on Facebook that there has been a stabbing in L.A. over Pokemon Go. I cannot confirm this story, and do not currently deem it as fact since I cannot ascertain the original news source. If its true or not it brings up a valid point. If you encounter a Pokemon Trainer who is not taking this as a game and is presenting themselves in a hostile manner its best to just walk away. Let them have and keep their gym if they are using physical threats they have clearly missed the point of the game.

No game is worth literally dieing over. Use common sense, good sounds judgment and always remember what your mother said. Look both ways before crossing the street, and always wear clean underwear because you never know when you have to go see the doctor because you got injured playing Pokemon Go.

~Kinetic