Halloween Safety Tips
All pedestrians need to keep in mind Halloween safety tips as the beloved holiday is upon us.
For one, there are numerous instances of drinking and driving during the spooky season, a factor that significantly affects the heightened pedestrian fatalities that have consistently occurred on the 31st of October.
Children, in particular, have been deemed most vulnerable. Younger people aged 4 to 8 years, in particular, are 10 times more likely to experience injuries or deaths during Halloween. For this reason, it’s important that adults need to be extra mindful when taking children out to trick-or-treat.
A USA Today news report further supports this claim. According to them, “children are three times more likely to be struck by a car on Halloween night than any other day of the year.”
With an increasing risk of wrongful death and catastrophic injuries (i.e.: traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury), it’s important that both adults and children alike are mindful of Halloween safety tips.
In this blog, we will give 5 Halloween safety tips for both adults and children.
5 Halloween Safety Tips For Adults
1. Don’t drink and drive
If a driver has alcohol in their system and decides to drive, they run into the risk of injuring pedestrians. Children are already vulnerable to pedestrian fatalities as it is. And if drunk drivers were to get behind the wheel during Halloween, the likelihood that they are going to injure (or worse, kill) a child is going to significantly increase.
If you’re an adult and plan to be inebriated during spooky season, make sure that you’re using rideshare services like Uber and Lyft to get to specific destinations. That way, you don’t endanger the lives of the pedestrians and drivers around you.
2. Don’t be a distracted driver
An adult who is driving while distracted could easily endanger the lives of pedestrians and drivers around them.
There are three types of distracted driving:
- Cognitive: distractions that would mentally deter the driver from being present and focused on the road.
- Manual: distraction that would hinder the driver from putting BOTH hands on the wheel.
- Visual: distractions that would deter the driver from keeping their eyes peeled on the road.
Texting and driving, in particular, is often cited as the most dangerous distraction as it encompasses the aforementioned types of distraction.
Texting distracts them mentally as they’re then focused on what they’re typing. It distracts them visually as they would have to look at their phone as opposed to keeping their eyes on the road. Manually as they would stop them from using both hands when driving.
3. Don’t be a distracted walker
Distracted walking is also detrimental to one’s safety. During the spooky season, we can expect sidewalks, especially those alongside streets that are lined with bars, to be crowded with people dawning scary costumes.
Being distracted (ie: texting, listening to music, etc.) could lead you to miss traffic signals that could potentially land you to the emergency room. It could also stop you from acting accordingly if they exhibit telltale signs of drunk driving and distracted driving.
For your sake and others, make sure that you are present as you wade through the crowded sidewalks and busy roads.
4. Stay in groups
There is power in numbers. This principle applies when it comes to Halloween pedestrian safety. Walking with a group gives you a sense of direction. It also gives you a sense of comfort in a way, knowing that you’re surrounded by a group of people you trust and won’t deliberately put you in harm’s way.
Staying in groups also keeps you accountable in terms of prioritizing safety. Your actions will affect the whole group, and if you act out of turn it might harm others as well, not just you. Besides, it’s a Halloween celebration! It’s always better to celebrate it with your friend group.
5. Teach kids pedestrian safety
For the parents reading this: if you’re celebrating Halloween with your children, you need to teach them all about pedestrian safety. It not only protects them from various road hazards, it protects you as well.
Ultimately, you are responsible for the safety of your children. Educating them on pedestrian safety reduces the likelihood of you being put in a precarious situation along with your child.
5 Halloween Safety Tips For Kids
1. Adults should accompany children
Children do not have sufficiently developed cognitive functions to reliably tread through the sidewalk. Even if you have determined that they do, their sheer size and lightness puts them at a much more vulnerable position than the average adult against the heavy cars that may careen towards them.
Alcohol and distractions are ever-present during Halloween, and so it is extremely important that children are accompanied by an adult who can ensure that they stay safe on the road.
2. Kids need to learn how to follow traffic signals
While this seems fairly intuitive, kids have a tendency to act in their best interest —even at the expense of their safety. This should come as no surprise. Even adults are the same way! For this reason, it is incredibly important to instill in them the importance of following traffic signals from an early age.
Adults can instruct them using phrases as simple as “red means stop, green means go.” Phrases like this are effective and succinct. And they’re also incredibly fun to say, which makes it easier for kids to remember and apply.
3. Wear bright clothing/reflective gear
For children fond of all things bright and quirky, finding a Halloween costume that’s optimal for safety should not be too much of a problem. But for those who have a knack for gore and horror, finding a middle ground between their wants and needs may be hard.
The goal here is to increase their visibility so that pedestrians and drivers alike can instantly be made aware of their presence. Bright colors are really good for this reason, but any reflective gear paired with darker colors could work as well!
4. Ask for some trick or treat during the daytime or in brightly lit sidewalks
But if your kid has neither bright colors or reflective gear to increase their visibility, it’d be best if they trick or treat during the daytime. If not, advise your child to walk along brightly lit sidewalks.
5. Plan your route
Lastly, planning your Halloween route is optimal for the safety of your child. It reduces anxiety, and you can also better gauge any pedestrian hazards that may come your way during your Halloween bonding.
If possible, you should have a look around the neighborhood first. This allows you to visualize what your day is going to look like during your walks. This is also best especially if the neighborhood you’re going trick or treating in is deemed a candy hot spot.
Call Omega Law Group
But with the consistent reports of heightened DUI figures during Halloween, on top of the crowded pedestrian walkways and busy roads, Halloween pedestrian fatalities are bound to happen. If you end up getting a fatal injury during this Holiday, make sure that you have the best personal injury law firm on speed dial. You will need to call Omega Law Group.
The team at Omega Law Group are well-versed in negotiation and client relations. As a matter of fact, clients have consistently praised their personalized service in their Google and Yelp reviews. Omega’s track record of success and satisfaction has caught the attention of SuperLawyers, US News, and other prestigious publications like the Los Angeles Times.
Recently, Omega Law Group made headlines in the Los Angeles Business Journal for their tech-forward integration of artificial intelligence in streamlining their caseload. The Business Journal has also cited them as one of the “Most Admired Firms.”
Accruing millions of dollars in settlement (and counting), the elite legal team at Omega Law is best fit to handle your pedestrian accident case.
A lot of people feel dissuaded to inquire about Omega’s services upon hearing the prestige the firm has accumulated for themselves over the years. But the firm stays true to its mission in providing quality and equitable service to all regardless of their financial circumstances.
This is why they’re adamant to operate on a contingency-fee basis, so that quality legal service can still be accessible to people with dire financial needs. That’s right. At Omega Law, you don’t have to pay upfront for any legal services.
How is this possible? Schedule a free legal consultation now to learn more!