RM300 fine if caught playing ‘Pokemon Go’ while driving

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KUALA LUMPUR: Those found playing Pokemon Go while driving can be fined up to RM300, said the Road Transport Department.

RTD director-general Datuk Nadzri Siron said the penalty was in accordance to the offence of using mobile phone while drving.

“Whether a driver is using a mobile phone for communication purposes or to ‘catch’ a Pokeman character, it is still an offence and a similar action will be taken against the offenders,” he told Bernama here yesterday.

And if the act of using a mobile phone or playing Pokeman Go while driving caused accidents or loss of lives, they would be arrested and charged under the Road Transport Act 1986, said Nadzri.

“There is no compromise on the issue of public safety,” he said, and advised the public to be constantly vigilant and put their safety and that of other road users first.

According to him, so far no action had been taken against any driver in any states for playing Pokemon Go while driving.

Pokemon Go has sparked a new wave in reality games in the history of medium smart phone application invention.

It is a conventional stealth game whereby the player needs to find and play against virtual characters based on real world locations detected via smartphones.

The app was officially launched on June 6 this year in Australia, New Zealand and the United States before spreading to over 30 countries at present. — Bernama