Practical Car Driving Tips To Cover Your Safety On Halloween

Ghouls, goblins and things made of pure fright scurry around on Halloween night. As you drive in the cold, dark, damp air there are definitely some precautions that will keep you and those adorable trick-or-treaters safe, happy and out of harms way.

Driving on Ol' Hallows Eve is dangerous enough without the added dangers with sugared up little children running all about. Take the advice of a large automotive insurance carrier. @progressive has some great suggestions for keeping out of harms ways.

Halloween Driving Safety Tips

At a glance: Help protect trick-or-treaters by following these driving safety tips on Halloween, or on the night your community hosts Halloween activities. Be especially careful between 4 and 8 p.m., when most severe vehicle/young pedestrian collisions happen.

Drive slowly, and don't pass stopped vehicles. The driver might be dropping off children.

Park your mobile phone. Avoid distractions by waiting until you've stopped to call, text, or surf. Get more mobile phone safety tips.

Watch for children darting into the street. Kids can cross the street anywhere, and most young pedestrian deaths happen at spots other than intersections.

Yield to young pedestrians. Children might not stop, either because they don't see your vehicle approaching or don't know how to safely cross the street.

Communicate with other drivers. Always use your turn signals. And if you have to pull over to drop off or pick up your kids, turn on your hazard lights.

And, to keep your own trick-or-treaters safe:

Teach them how to safely cross streets. They should look both ways and cross only at corners and crosswalks.

Consider indoor community Halloween programs for younger kids. Some communities also offer to help you inspect your kids' treats to make sure they're safe to eat.

Brighten them up. Give them flashlights and glow sticks, and/or use reflective tape on their costumes, so drivers can see them.

Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

The National Safety Council has some more great facts to help keep you and the adventurers safe while you are out and about.

Watch for children walking on roadways, medians and curbs. Keep an eye peeled and wide open for children darting out in between parked cars. Be especially careful around alleys and driveways. This article has many great safety tips for parents and children.

“Falls are the leading cause of injury on Halloween.”

The Halloween Safety Guide brings up another great reason to stay alert . “It's also a night that child predators are looking for victims. Let your child know that they should never get into the car of a stranger at any time. If someone stops them and asks for help or offers them candy, tell them to scream as loud as they can and run.

Make sure your child carries a flashlight, glow stick or has reflective tape on their costume to make them more visible to cars. Left them know if they carry a flash light to never shine it in the eyes of a driver. This can cause blindness on the drivers part temporarily and they may not see your child.

If you are dropping off or picking up your kids in an area, pull off the road into a safe spot and turn on your hazard lights to alert other motorists. If you go with your kids from door to door, leave the hazard lights on so other drivers can see your car parked there.

Even more hair raising statistics from the Miami Childrens Hospital.

For motorists, the scariest part of Halloween are children dressed in dark colours and in costumes that cover their eyes out walking on streets and roadways at dusk when many adults are still driving home from work.

Sadly, Halloween is a dangerous night. While excited trick-or-treaters may forget the rules of the road and be oblivious to the hazards, we, as motorists must be vigilant. The CDC found that the number of deaths among young pedestrians (ages 5-14) is four times higher on Halloween evening than any other evening of the year.

Data from the USDOT shows that: Fatal collisions between motor vehicles and young pedestrians (under 15 years of age) happen most frequently between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. — prime trick-or-treating time.

84% of deaths among young pedestrians occurred at non-intersection locations (indicating children are most likely to dart and dash from mid-block into the street).

Halloween is also one of the year’s most dangerous holidays on the road due to alcohol-related crashes caused by those who drink and drive after parties and festivities. Two-thirds of all highway fatalities at Halloween are alcohol-related. Don’t even think about getting behind the wheel if you’re impaired.

If that doesn't get your attention then you may want to rethink your plans for this evening. Stay safe and stay alert.