Latest Pokémon Go update stops you playing in cars

When I was at school, our teachers banned Pokémon cards because Andrew Deltadesco was caught with some belonging to a strip poker set hidden among his Clefables (he had a straight, ahem, so to speak).

And the same thing’s happening again, folks.

In the latest update, augmented-reality smash hit Pokémon Go received a feature that removes Pokémon from the player’s area if it detects they are in a vehicle moving at more than 30 mph, thus reducing the desire to play.

This course of action – which, despite the jest above, seems perfectly reasonable – is an attempt to stop players from accessing Pokémon Go while driving, a practice which has had fatal consequences, including a tragic death in Japan in August. Unfortunately though, the app does not differentiate between the driver and passengers in a car, or give a free pass to those commuting via train, bus or Uber.

Previously, the Pokémon Go team added a survey to help eliminate Pokémon Go-playing drivers by asking those in vehicles if they were the driver or the passenger. Niantic had to subsequently rethink the idea when drivers learned that they could easily swerve around the security system by answering “I’m a passenger”.

What are your thoughts on Niantic’s decision? Let us know in the comments.