0338 – Halloween Safety Tips: Reduce child pedestrian fatalities.

Every year as we approach Halloween we see a list of Halloween safety tips for enjoying Trick-or-Treating safely.  Many of those tips revolve around traditional ideas such as strangers and candy safety. What should scare you more than strangers, or tainted treats, more than all the witches and werewolves is the rate of pedestrian fatality accidents that occur on Halloween.  According to State Farm Insurance, Halloween is the deadliest day of the year for child pedestrian fatalities.

It is certainly more exciting to think about the exotic threats, but, in reality it is much more important to deal with the most probable threats first.  This is an important concept that we talk about in our Critical Defensive Handgun Courses.  You can learn more about Safety Solutions Academies courses here.

So Keep reading because today we are going to take a look at what we can do to have a safe and enjoyable Halloween!

Halloween Safety Tips:

AAA cites the risk of child pedestrian fatalities on October 31 to be more than twice as high as any other day. You can read some Halloween safety tips from the folks at AAA here. With scary statistics like these, it only makes sense for both drivers and those on foot to take some precautions to avoid tragedy. Here are some of my tips to make Halloween safer:

Halloween Safety Tips for Drivers:

Be Aware of Pedestrians

One of the most important things we can do to reduce the occurrence of vehicle vs. pedestrian accidents is for the driver to increase their awareness of pedestrians. On Halloween, we must recognize that there is likely to be an increase in pedestrian activity especially in and around neighborhoods. As a result, we need to increase our awareness of those pedestrians. Pause your conversation with your passengers, ignore the song on the radio, put down your cell phone and pay attention to the people around your vehicle.

Slow Down

Anyone who spends time behind the wheel knows that a reduction in speed means more time to react to the unexpected. Remember, especially in neighborhoods, the posted speed is the MAXIMUM. You certainly can drive slower than the posted limit and on Halloween, maybe you should.

Avoid Neighborhood Shortcuts

Getting to your destination a few minutes sooner or avoiding a few extra miles worth of fuel and wear and tear can be attractive, but cutting through neighborhoods filled with trick-or-treaters increases the risk of a pedestrian accident. Stick to the main roads and avoid the risk altogether.

Don’t Drink and Drive

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 15% of the drivers involved in fatal accidents on week days are legally drunk. On weekends the number jumps to 31%. We can logically assume that Halloween festivities could lead to a higher than typical consumption rate of alcohol. Everyone likes to have a good time, however, if you are planning on driving, alcohol shouldn’t be part of your fun. Don’t drink and drive.

Halloween Safety Tips for Trick-or-Treaters:

Cross at Corners

Everyone needs to be aware that 70% of child pedestrian fatalities result from children crossing in the middle of the block. Take a few minutes to discuss crossing streets before you head out and while you are trick-or-treating, take the extra time to cross at corners.

Make Costumes Visible

Give drivers a hand spotting you while you are out collecting treats by making your costume visible. Select a costume that is light in color when possible. If a lighter costume isn’t in the cards accessorize with reflective tape, flash lights and glow sticks. When using reflective tape attach it near the feet and hands as their movement helps to attract the attention of drivers. Make sure the tape is visible from 360 degrees.

Don’t Obstruct Your Vision

When it comes to protecting ourselves, our eyes collect a tremendous amount of information so that we can make appropriate decisions. Let your eyes do their job by choosing makeup over masks. If a mask is mandatory, make sure to remove it completely when crossing streets.

 Supervise Your Children

Halloween is an exciting time especially for children. With that excitement tends to come a focus on the task at hand, collecting treats. There is nothing wrong with having a good time and having adult supervision close at hand to provide important reminders and guidance can help keep your excited ghosts and goblins safe.

When it comes to safety we must always make sure that the benefits significantly outweigh the risks of our activity. The benefits of a fun family night on Halloween are clear and when put forth a bit of effort to reduce the risks with the tips above we can help to ensure that October, 31st is as safe as it is fun.

If you would like to learn more about Halloween Safety Tips follow this link to Halloween-Safety.com.

Here is another list of good Halloween Safety Tips to keep in mind.

Take Halloween Safety Tips  more seriously than Fox!

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