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Amid safety concerns, TxDOT says 'Don't Pokemon GO and Drive'

Thanks to Texas Department of Transportation's campaign, "Don't Text and Drive," every Texan knows they should put down their phone when it rings behind the wheel.

<p>Pokemon GO warns its users to stay aware of their surroundings.</p>

Thanks to Texas Department of Transportation's campaign, "Don't Text and Drive," every Texan knows they should put down their phone when it rings behind the wheel.

But after a few Pokemon GO users made headlines for crashing while capturing creatures, TxDOT's social media manager thinks a new campaign is in order: "Don't Pokemon GO and Drive." And she feels that she "shouldn't have to tell you this."

The TxDOT employee posted a screenshot of the app telling its users to "stay aware of your surroundings" along with a plea of their own:

{"author_name":"Texas Department of Transportation","author_url":"https://www.facebook.com/TxDOT/","provider_url":"https://www.facebook.com","provider_name":"Facebook","success":true,"height":null,"html":"&#lt;div id=\"fb-root\"&#gt;&#lt;/div&#gt;\n&#lt;script&#gt;(function(d, s, id) {\n var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\n if (d.getElementById(id)) return;\n js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;\n js.src = \"//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3\";\n fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);\n}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));&#lt;/script&#gt;&#lt;div class=\"fb-post\" data-href=\"https://www.facebook.com/TxDOT/photos/a.91310920873.115130.44520755873/10154221151180874/?type=3\" data-width=\"552\"&#gt;&#lt;blockquote cite=\"https://www.facebook.com/TxDOT/posts/10154221151180874:0\" class=\"fb-xfbml-parse-ignore\"&#gt;&#lt;p&#gt;Y’all. Please don’t make us have to create a campaign called “Don’t Pokemon-Go and Drive.” We know you have to catch...&#lt;/p&#gt;Posted by &#lt;a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/TxDOT/\"&#gt;Texas Department of Transportation&#lt;/a&#gt; on &#lt;a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/TxDOT/posts/10154221151180874:0\"&#gt;Monday, July 11, 2016&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/blockquote&#gt;&#lt;/div&#gt;","type":"rich","version":"1.0","url":"https://www.facebook.com/TxDOT/photos/a.91310920873.115130.44520755873/10154221151180874/?type=3","width":552}

Since it was shared on Monday, the Facebook post has garnered nearly 50,000 reactions and nearly 75,000 shares. Apparently first shared as a joke, the poster later said in a comment, "Maybe we will have a campaign about it after all," and invited people to submit their own campaign slogans, videos and graphics.

Submitters just had to follow two rules: "Keep it clean and use the hashtags #weshouldnthavetotellyouthis and #talktextcrash." Once the guidelines were set, the people certainly responded:

{"author_name":"Phazey","author_url":"https://www.facebook.com/Phazeylewolf/","provider_url":"https://www.facebook.com","provider_name":"Facebook","success":true,"height":281,"html":"&#lt;div id=\"fb-root\"&#gt;&#lt;/div&#gt;\n&#lt;script&#gt;(function(d, s, id) {\n var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\n if (d.getElementById(id)) return;\n js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;\n js.src = \"//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3\";\n fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);\n}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));&#lt;/script&#gt;&#lt;div class=\"fb-video\" data-href=\"https://www.facebook.com/Phazeylewolf/videos/vb.456495841174227/635454006611742/?type=2\"&#gt;&#lt;blockquote cite=\"https://www.facebook.com/Phazeylewolf/videos/635454006611742/\" class=\"fb-xfbml-parse-ignore\"&#gt;&#lt;a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/Phazeylewolf/videos/635454006611742/\"&#gt;HOW TO PLAY POKEMON GO WHILE DRIVING&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;p&#gt;HOW TO PLAY POKEMON GO WHILE DRIVING\n\ndont drive and play pokemon go\n#ISHOULDENTHAVETOTELLYOUTHIS&#lt;/p&#gt;Posted by &#lt;a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/Phazeylewolf/\"&#gt;Phazey&#lt;/a&#gt; on Tuesday, July 12, 2016&#lt;/blockquote&#gt;&#lt;/div&#gt;","type":"video","version":"1.0","url":"https://www.facebook.com/Phazeylewolf/videos/vb.456495841174227/635454006611742/?type=2","width":500}

One follower even came up with a parody about safety using the original Pokemon theme song:

The identity of the social media manager behind the Facebook posts remains a mystery, although some Facebook users who commented seem to believe the poster is female. But as one Austin Redditor posted, we can all agree that that this person "deserves a raise."

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