Patrols will target the areas surrounding Flagstaff Lighthouse and Levendi harbourside cafe – both popular stops in the Pokemon Go gamesphere. 

Wollongong highway patrol supervisor Sergeant Stewart Arnold said police had noticed slow-moving drivers ignoring the ‘no right turn’ sign at the base of the Endeavour Drive loop. 

“If they’re doing under 30km/h and they’re moving, they can get these rewards [within the game],” he said. 

“We’ve got a marked police car sitting at that intersection, but because people are so caught up in the game, they don’t even see it. 

“If they can’t see a fully marked police car then what are the chances of them seeing a child run out between the cars? It just shows their attention is more focused on the game than on the road.” 

Drivers face a $325 fine for using their mobile phone while behind the wheel. Further fines apply for driving contrary to street signs. 

The concentration of PokeStops on Wollongong’s Blue Mile precinct has made it a popular place – day and night – for fans of the Niantic gaming juggernaut. 

The prospect of catching imaginary monsters has captured the imagination but the game has attracted more than its share of contraversy. 

Last month a couple was held up at gunpoint at while visiting a deserted Tahmoor skate park at night, in pursuit of game rewards. Players were waterbombed in Rhodes when residents grew frustrated at their late-night assemblage. 

In the US, makers of the game face a lawsuit over players trespassing on private property while searching for creature. 

Sgt Arnold said the game’s ability to generate a crowd – day and night - posed a unique challenge for police.

“We’ve got people from Sydney and also the Southern Highlands coming down [to Wollongong foreshore] to play,” he said. 

“Because we have a lot more people there, the risk is higher of a pedestrian being hit by a car, or a motor vehicle collision, because of their driving being impaired by being on their mobile phone.”