MYNORTHWEST NEWS

A solution to the Pokemon Go and drive problem in Seattle

Jul 13, 2016, 4:22 PM | Updated: 4:27 pm

Pokemon Go is getting people out of the house. And that’s good. But people are playing while driving around Seattle.

Jordan Segal, 24, cocks his head to the side and coyly admits he has played Pokemon Go behind the wheel.

“I have done it but I was on a very deserted back road,” he said. To that, Jordan’s friend, who wasn’t being interviewed, yelled, “Oh, I totally have done it while driving!”

Related: Why Pokemon Go is popular … and dangerous

Playing Pokemon Go and driving is happening. That’s where people like Zach are stepping in. He’s a Pokemon Go Safari Driver.

“In all honesty, it’s not safe to be doing the game while driving, so I figured why not provide a service,” he said.

For $20 per hour/per person, Zach is offering to take you and your friends around to find rare Pokemon Go characters.

“I’ll drive them around as long as they want and as long as they will pay for the service,” he said. “I’ll try to make it as enjoyable as I can — I play Pokemon Go myself.”

His Pokemon Go Safari business was born because he wanted to make money and wanted to provide a safe alternative to Pokemon’ing while driving.

“I saw a guy blow through a stoplight and he was playing Pokemon Go,” Zach said.

Other than being your personal Pokemon Go Safari driver, Zach holds three degrees (one happens to be in business) and he recently quit his high-paying, stressful job to find happiness.

But will being a Pokemon Go Safari driver do the trick?

“I think it will,” Zach said. “I love to nerd-out, and being with like-minded people is always fun.”

MyNorthwest News

seattle police (2)...

James Lynch

Seattle mayor says city is ‘absolutely aiming’ to recover $13.1 million in police overpayments

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson said the city is seeking to recover about $13.1 million mistakenly paid to Seattle police employees in retroactive wages.

3 hours ago

plague...

Associated Press

Russia reports a worker at a Siberian plague institute got pneumonia from an unknown cause and died

Russian authorities have quarantined a hospital and are monitoring contacts of an employee at a plague research institute in Siberia.

4 hours ago

gatorade recall wa...

Jason Sutich

More than 122K cases of Gatorade recalled in 37 states, including WA

More than 122,000 cases of Gatorade were voluntarily recalled in Washington and 36 other states due to undeclared food dyes in the drinks.

4 hours ago

casinos...

MyNorthwest Staff

8 Washington casinos will stay open, preserving 850 jobs, Maverick Gaming owner says

About 850 casino workers across Washington could keep their jobs under a proposed deal to buy eight casinos which are currently slated to close at the end of November.

4 hours ago

amazon seattle fresh japanese grocery store aurora...

MyNorthwest Staff

Japanese grocer to open first Seattle store in Aurora’s former Amazon Fresh space

A Japanese grocery store is opening its first Seattle store in Aurora, taking over the former Amazon Fresh space in North Seattle.

5 hours ago

I-5...

Frank Lenzi

Woman accused of attacking 2 girls with knife after I-5 crash in DuPont

Troopers said a woman crashed her SUV on I-5 in DuPont Monday morning — then got out and attacked the two girls who were riding with her.

5 hours ago

A solution to the Pokemon Go and drive problem in Seattle