Halloween Safety Tips

Halloween Safety Tips

Halloween Safety Tips

I’m Ed Smith, a Redding Auto Accident Attorney. Halloween is right around the corner and children everywhere are anxiously waiting for the evening of tricks and treats! Whether you’re planning on taking your children to one of Redding’s Merchant Safe trunk-or-treating events, or hitting the neighborhood and going door-to-door, check out the helpful information below BEFORE you venture out.

Frightful Halloween Statistics

• On Halloween, there is a much larger chance of a child being struck by a motor vehicle. The risk is four times higher on October 31st than any other day of the year.
• Approximately 41 million children in the 5 to 14-year-old age group will be going door-to-door in the United States.
• 19% of fatal pedestrian accidents that occurred on Halloween between 2009 and 2013 involved a drunk driver.

Getting Ready for the Big Night

• Make sure there is a responsible adult or sibling accompanying all children 12 years old and younger.
• If your child is wearing a mask, make sure their vision isn’t obscured at all. A safer alternative is non-toxic face paint.
• Check out the props your child will be using on Halloween, flexible and blunt-tipped. Children are prone to horseplay.
• If your child is wearing a dark costume, add reflective tape to their costume and to their treat bag or bucket.
• Many people still put candles in their jack-o-lanterns. When purchasing your child’s costume, check to ensure all components are flame-retardant.

Trick-or-Treating Action Plan

•  Make sure your children know to only visit well-lit houses. Make it clear that your child should never enter the home of a stranger, even if it’s to get candy.
• Advise against taking ‘short-cuts’ and only travel on well-known routes that have proper lighting.
• Stay on the sidewalks and avoid walking in the street when possible. If there aren’t any sidewalks always walk facing traffic.
• Carry a flashlight in your treat bucket with the light-powered on to keep a free hand. Never shine the light into the eyes or vehicles of oncoming traffic.
• Listen for traffic and look both ways before crossing a street.
• There is safety in numbers, get a group together to go door-to-door.

Motorists – Be on the Lookout for Kids

• Slow down in residential areas, and drive at least 5 miles per hour under the speed limit to allow yourself extra time to stop in case a child darts out into the street.
• Be an extra set of eyes for children. If you see a group of children crossing the street, stop a safe distance away from them. Your vehicle can be a buffer between them and a driver not paying attention.
• Turn your headlights on, even before the sun goes down. Your vehicle will be more visible to children.
• Don’t just look for children on the sidewalk or streets, expand your scans to front porches and front yards, assume a child is coming and be aware.

Redding Auto Accident Attorney 

I’m Ed Smith, a Redding Auto Accident Attorney. If you or a loved one has been injured in an auto accident, please contact my office at (530) 392-9400 or toll-free at (800) 404-5400 for no-obligation, free and friendly advice. I have been assisting families in Northern California with their wrongful death and personal injury cases since 1982.

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