Since the release of Pokémon Go earlier this year, players have landed themselves in hot water for a variety of issues, including the use of smartphones inside New South Wales courthouses as well as the road-related death of two pedestrians in Japan.
Regarding the latter, Niantic has made some effort to discourage drivers against playing Pokémon Go. Back in August, the company released an update to the game which would display a pop-up warning if it detected movement uncharacteristic of typical human speeds. Unsurprisingly, that approach did little to stop dishonest drivers from dismissing the warning with a simple tap of the "I"m a passenger" button.
In response, Niantic has stepped up to the mark in its latest update. When the game detects that the device is moving faster than 30 mph, or around 48 km/h, it will prevent Pokémon from appearing in the immediate vicinity. While this will certainly discourage drivers from playing Pokémon Go at higher speeds, it also ends up penalizing honest passengers in the same vehicle, as well as those who catch various modes of public transport.
Of course, drivers could simply remain below the imposed 30 mph limit to bypass the new safety measure but at the risk of injury to themselves and others, as well as attracting attention from local authorities.
Source: Digital Trends