Don’t Pokemon And Drive

The Bangor Police Department, with some help from my former classmate, is getting the word out about the importance of putting down the Pokemon game while you're behind the wheel.

I'll admit that I'm totally clueless when it comes to this whole Pokemon craze. I'd heard of it, in passing, when I found two coworkers in the hall at work, looking for another coworker who had gone downstairs to look for a sheep. (huh?) She even came into our studio, asking if we had a sheep! Gee...let me check my pockets. Nope. No sheep.

But, apparently, this is the fad of the day, much like Farmville was a few years ago. Everyone is playing the 1990's-era game on their smartphones, and wandering around, looking for imaginary animals. (I guess...again, I've never played it) And, while I'm not familiar with the game, I do understand the obsession. I got hooked on Farmville years ago, until I realized that my time could be better spent than on pulling imaginary weeds from my imaginary garden, and chasing away imaginary pests.

Always on top of the latest trends, the Bangor PD is offering advice to folks who play the game. The message is, it's still distracted driving (and illegal), even if you're playing Pokemon behind the wheel. One post offers advice, while the other has a great Pokemon-style meme created by my former classmate, John Edwards. Next thing you know, they'll be offering bumper stickers that say 'PDPD! (Put Down Pokemon + Drive!)'