Halloween Safety for Trick-or-Treaters

Safety on the Trick-or-Treat Trail

• Always accompany young children on their neighborhood rounds. 
• If your older children are trick-or-treating alone, plan and review the route that is acceptable to you. Agree on a specific time when they should return home and get flashlights with batteries for everyone.  Trick-or-treaters are safer together in a group than going alone.
• Talk with kids about the risk of distracted walking. This includes text messaging, talking on or looking at the mobile phone and listening to music.  When you are walking with your kids, put electronic devices down, keep your head up and walk, don’t run, across the street.
• Cross the street at corners, using traffic signals and crosswalks.  Teach kids to look left, right and left again when crossing and keep looking as you cross.
• Teach children to make eye contact with drivers before crossing in front of them.
• Always walk on sidewalks or paths. If there are no sidewalks, walk facing traffic as far to the left as possible. Children should walk on direct routes with the fewest street crossings.
• Watch for cars that are turning or backing up. Teach children to never dart out into the street or cross between parked cars.

Costumes for a Safe Halloween

• Decorate costumes and bags with reflective tape or stickers.  When possible, choose light colors.
• Face paint and makeup is safer than masks, which can obstruct a child's vision
• Give kids glow sticks and/or flashlights to help them see and be seen by drivers.
• When selecting a costume, make sure it is the right size to prevent trips and falls.
• If it's cold, dress in weather appropriate clothes.  Add layers under or over a costume and add a hat, gloves, and warm shoes to keep kids toasty. 

Drive Extra Carefully on Halloween

• Slow down and be especially alert in residential neighborhoods. Children are excited on Halloween and may move in unpredictable ways.
• Take extra time to look for kids at intersections, on medians and on curbs.
• Enter and exit driveways and alleys slowly and carefully.
• Get rid of any distractions - like your phone - in your car so you can concentrate on the road and your surroundings.
• Turn your headlights on earlier in the day to spot children from greater distances.
• Popular trick-or-treating hours are 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Be especially alert for kids during those hours.