Fall is in the air and the next few months will be filled with holiday fun and family time. Your friends at Coker Law want you to know that we are always thinking of how we can continue to provide you great service at the highest level. Since your safety and well-being are a top priority for us, we are touching base with you throughout this festive season to provide helpful information to keep you and your family safe and secure.
We all know that kids (and even grown-up kids) love the magic of Halloween, whether it’s through trick-or-treating, parties or going to a neighborhood haunted house. It’s easy to get distracted from the dangers of the roadways. Children are more than twice as likely to be hit by a car and killed on Halloween than on any other day of the year. In 2017, October ranked No. 2 in motor vehicle deaths by month, with 3,700. (July came in number 1 with 3,830 deaths.)
We don’t mean to scare you with that information, but we want you to know that accidents happen and there are things you can do to keep yourself and your family out of harm’s way.
Tricks, Treats and Halloween Safety Tips
To help ensure your children have a safe holiday, the American Academy of Pediatrics has compiled a list of Halloween safety tips:
- A responsible adult should accompany young children on the neighborhood rounds
- If your older children are going alone, plan and review a route that has sidewalks, traffic signals and crosswalks
- Teach children to make eye contact with drivers before crossing in front of them
- Agree on a specific time your children should return home
- Teach your children never to enter a stranger’s home or car
- Instruct children to travel only in familiar, well-lit areas and stick with their friends
- Tell your children not to eat any treats until they return home
- All costumes, wigs and accessories should be fire-resistant
- Avoid masks, which can obstruct vision
- If children are allowed out after dark, fasten reflective tape to their costumes and bags, or give them glow sticks
- Remove all makeup before children go to bed to prevent skin and eye irritation
The National Safety Council (NSC) also reminds adults and children to put electronic devices down; while walking, keep your head up and don’t run across the street.
Mummies and Monsters Can Make Mayhem for Motorists
If you are going to be driving when children or groups are out for Halloween festivities, it’s important that you pay extra attention, especially during traditional trick-or-treat hours. The most popular trick-or-treating time periods tend to be between 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Everyone is excited on Halloween and kids of all ages will act in unpredictable ways. So, drive slowly and be prepared for a distracted child or even adult in residential neighborhoods.
- First and foremost, eliminate any distractions in your vehicle, this is not the night for anything that will pull your eyes from the road
- Look twice for anyone in the intersection, curbs, crosswalks or medians
- Enter and exit driveways and side streets very carefully, kids tend to rush from house to house
- Before it’s dark, put your headlights on to increase your chances of seeing trick-or-treaters and for them to see you
- At twilight and later in the evening, be on extra watch for children in dark clothing or costumes
- Discourage new, inexperienced drivers from driving on Halloween. You can read more about Coker Law’s student driver education initiative, Safer Streets Through Smarter Drivers on our website www.cokerlaw.com.
Have a wonderful Halloween, even if it’s just answering the door to all those adorable princesses and pirates. Oh, and one more tip, careful on the candy consumption, no one wants a belly-ache the next day!
