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Death by Pokémon GO: The Economic and Human Cost of Using Apps While Driving

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  • Mara Faccio
  • John J. McConnell

Abstract

Using police accident reports for Tippecanoe County, Indiana, and exploiting the introduction of the augmented reality game Pokémon GO as a natural experiment, we document a disproportionate increase in crashes and associated vehicular damage, injuries, and fatalities in the vicinity of locations where users can play the game while driving. We estimate the incremental county-wide cost of users playing Pokémon GO while driving to be in the range of $5.2 to $25.5 million over the 148 days following the introduction of the game. Extrapolating these estimates to nation-wide levels yields a total ranging from $2.0 to $7.3 billion.

Suggested Citation

  • Mara Faccio & John J. McConnell, 2018. "Death by Pokémon GO: The Economic and Human Cost of Using Apps While Driving," NBER Working Papers 24308, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:24308
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. repec:reg:rpubli:58 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Joshua T. Cohen & John D. Graham, 2003. "A Revised Economic Analysis of Restrictions on the Use of Cell Phones While Driving," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(1), pages 5-17, February.
    3. Marianne Bertrand & Esther Duflo & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2004. "How Much Should We Trust Differences-In-Differences Estimates?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(1), pages 249-275.
    4. Rahi Abouk & Scott Adams, 2013. "Texting Bans and Fatal Accidents on Roadways: Do They Work? Or Do Drivers Just React to Announcements of Bans?," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 5(2), pages 179-199, April.
    5. Mitchell A. Petersen, 2009. "Estimating Standard Errors in Finance Panel Data Sets: Comparing Approaches," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(1), pages 435-480, January.
    6. J. Bradley Karl & Charles Nyce, 2019. "How Cellphone Bans Affect Automobile Insurance Markets," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 86(3), pages 567-593, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Aksoy, Billur & Lusher, Lester & Carrell, Scott, 2025. "From distraction to dedication: Commitment and incentives against phone use in the classroom," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).
    2. Hersh, Jonathan & Lang, Bree J. & Lang, Matthew, 2022. "Car accidents, smartphone adoption and 3G coverage," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 278-293.
    3. Anand, Vaibhav, 2022. "The Value of Forecast Improvements: Evidence from Advisory Lead Times and Vehicle Crashes," MPRA Paper 114491, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Brands, Devi & Klingen, Joris & Ostermeijer, Francis, 2022. "Hands on the wheel, eyes on the phone: The effect of smartphone usage fees on road safety," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • R40 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - General

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