Please Don't Kill Yourself Playing 'Pokémon Go'

Pokemon Go in bikes and cars
Screenshots via iOS/Oren Aks/Thrillist
Screenshots via iOS/Oren Aks/Thrillist

Pokémon Go has hypnotized the country. Like frenzied zombies, obsessed creature-catchers are hitting the streets in droves trying to catch ‘em all. Players, with faces buried in their phones, are walking into oncoming traffic, hopping onto precarious rooftops, and hovering near dangerous bodies of water. Some people are even playing Pokémon Go from behind the wheel, which is not only moronic and wildly dangerous, it's straight-up cheating. (If you’re that desperate, here’s an idea: get a designated driver for your Pokémon hunt. Ads are popping up all over Craigslist with savvy opportunists offering rides to major Poké Stops and Gym Trainers.)

Naturally, people are detailing all of their death-defying exploits on social media. After all, if a Snorlax drops on your windshield and you catch it while T-boning another car without Tweeting about it afterwards, did it ever actually happen?? 

Looks like this may be a banner year for the Darwin Awards.

Despite several crazy hoaxes, there has yet to be any official report of a Pokémon-related auto accident. That doesn’t mean police aren’t doing what they can to thwart the threat -- several police departments around the country (and even the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration) have already issued warnings to drivers that they best not be Pokémon Go-ing behind the wheel.

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Joe McGauley is a senior writer for Thrillist who doesn't understand this game in the least.