Trooper catches driver on side of road playing Pokémon Go on 8 phones simultaneously

A Washington state trooper who pulled over to help what he thought was a disabled vehicle found something else instead: The driver had eight phones simultaneously playing the video game Pokémon Go.The driver was stopped on the shoulder of Highway 518 in Burien, south of Seattle, on Tuesday evening.The agency tweeted a photo showing a blue foam square, with the phones sitting in eight rectangular cutouts.Trooper Rick Johnson is a spokesman for the patrol and said Sgt. Kyle Smith did not issue a ticket because he did not observe the car moving while the driver was using the phones.But Smith asked the driver to put the phones in the back seat and move along, because stopping on the shoulder is for emergencies only.

A Washington state trooper who pulled over to help what he thought was a disabled vehicle found something else instead: The driver had eight phones simultaneously playing the video game Pokémon Go.

The driver was stopped on the shoulder of Highway 518 in Burien, south of Seattle, on Tuesday evening.


The agency tweeted a photo showing a blue foam square, with the phones sitting in eight rectangular cutouts.

Trooper Rick Johnson is a spokesman for the patrol and said Sgt. Kyle Smith did not issue a ticket because he did not observe the car moving while the driver was using the phones.

But Smith asked the driver to put the phones in the back seat and move along, because stopping on the shoulder is for emergencies only.