For many children, Halloween is their favorite night of the year. They have planned their costumes and can’t wait to Trick-or-Treat. For kids, the night is all about fun and candy. However, there is a darker side to Halloween. On Halloween, the number of child pedestrian accident deaths is four times that of an average day.
There are several reasons why child pedestrian accidents increase on Halloween night:
- More children are walking on the road.
- Pedestrian accidents involving children tend to occur during the Trick-or-Treat hours (4 p.m. to 8 p.m.).
- Children are excited and often forget about safety rules.
- Dark costumes are hard to see.
- Halloween is also a night for adult parties that involve drinking.
How can you keep children safe? Here are some safety tips.
- Dress them for visibility. Avoid dark costumes and mask that obscure vision. Encourage your child to choose brightly-colored costumes and use glow-in-the-dark face paints. Give your child a flashlight, glow stick or light-up accessory to carry.
- Plan your route. Try to minimize street crossings, especially at unmarked intersections. It is often a good idea to Trick-or-Treat down one side of the street and then go to the other side.
- Be careful when crossing streets. Use care when crossing the street. Never assume that a driver sees you and your child. Try to cross at stoplights or stop signs. If there are no marked crossing zones, cross streets at the corner.
- Stay on the sidewalk. If there are no sidewalks in your neighborhood, your child should walk near the edge of the road facing traffic.
- Stay with your kids. Your children may feel that they are old enough to go Trick-or-Treating on their own. However, children under the age of ten do not have the peripheral vision, depth perception, and decision-making skills needed to cross streets on their own. Even older children may have difficulty crossing streets at night.
- Stay alert. It is best to keep your eyes on your child while Trick-or-Treating. It only takes a second for a little one to dart across a street or into the path of a car.
The personal injury attorneys of Bye, Goff & Rohde wish you and your family a safe and Happy Halloween!