Halloween is now considered one of the biggest holidays, particularly in America. But as children the world over take to the streets to trick-or-treat, their risk of being injured by a motor vehicle increases dramatically.

One study, carried out in recent years, found that children have a greater chance of being fatally injured by a car on Halloween than on any other day of the year.

With this in mind, eDriving FLEET is issuing a road safety alert to motorists and pedestrians to help everyone celebrate Halloween safely.

Drivers

  • Presume that all neighborhoods will have children on the streets. Slow right down (well under the posted speed limit) when driving through any residential area on Halloween night, remembering to obey all traffic signs and signals.
  • Be prepared for children dashing out into the road without warning
  • Watch for children on roadways, medians and curbs
  • Consider that children will be excited and could forget everything they know about staying safe near to roads, particularly when in groups
  • Expect children to cross the road in places where they shouldn’t, such as behind parked cars. Remember that children in dark costumes will be more difficult to spot.
  • Be particularly cautious when turning corners or pulling into/out of driveways or side roads
  • Turn on your headlights, even at dusk
  • Extend your regular ‘scanning’ by looking for children heading out of driveways/ gardens
  • Eliminate distractions – it is crucial to concentrate on the road and your surroundings
  • Drive sober

Road safety while trick-or-treating

  • Accompany children under 12 as they trick-or-treat, even in local neighborhoods
  • Discuss the route that your trick-or-treaters will follow
  • Stick to sidewalks and paths – avoid walking on the road
  • Talk to children about staying safe on the roads and ask them to stick to familiar areas. Remind children about looking both ways and listening for traffic.
  • Make it a requirement that trick-or-treaters heading out together, stay together
  • Add reflective tape to trick-or-treat costumes (particularly dark ones) and loot buckets to help increase the visibility of children on the roads. Glow sticks/ bracelets can also help increase visibility.
  • Ask trick-or-treaters to remove facemasks between houses so as not to obstruct vision – or avoid masks altogether by using face paints
  • Trick-or-treaters should be cautious of long, flowing costumes, particularly when walking close to the roadside. They may need to pick up the bottom of their costume as they walk to avoid tripping.
  • Ensure trick-or-treaters cross the road in safe places