HENDERSON, Ky. — Trick-or-treaters, parents, motorists and homeowners all play an important role in keeping Halloween safe. Troopers with the Kentucky State Police offer the following tips to ensure a safe and enjoyable Halloween.
FOR MOTORISTS
- Stay alert for increased pedestrian and bicycle traffic on Halloween evening.
- Be patient and SLOW DOWN! Give children lots of time to cross the street. Costumes may impair their ability to see and hear you and to get out of your way quickly. Young children may lack the physical ability to cross a street quickly. They do not effectively evaluate potential traffic threats, cannot anticipate driver behavior, and process sensory information more slowly than adults.
- Excited kids may forget to “stop, look and listen” before crossing the street. Since they may be trying to visit as many houses as possible within a specific time period, children could dart quickly in front of your car.
- Drive defensively. Don’t assume that a pedestrian will move in a predictable manner. Expect the unexpected!
- Be extra cautious in areas where vehicles are parked along the side of the street. Trick-or-treaters may dart into traffic from between parked cars.
- Watch for children walking in the street, especially if there are no sidewalks in the neighborhood. Also, watch for children walking on medians and curbs.
- Enter and exit driveways and alleys carefully.
FOR PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS
- Trick-or-treaters should carry flashlights or “glow sticks.”
- Dress children in costumes that are light-colored and clearly visible to motorists. Consider traffic safety vests which may be found in most agriculture type businesses.
- Costumes should be no longer than ankle-length to prevent tripping, entanglement or contact with a flame.
- Use face paints or make-up rather than masks that could impair vision.
- Wear light-colored clothing or add reflective tape to costumes and trick-or-treat bags.
- Children should wear comfortable, well-fitting, sturdy shoes.
- Wear flame-resistant costumes. Avoid paper costumes.
- Small children should be accompanied by adults.
- Older children should stay in groups.
- Avoid capes that could pose strangulation risks by getting caught on structures or protrusions your child may encounter.
- Make sure props such as swords, scythes, pitchforks, spears, wands or knives are flexible (not rigid) with smooth or rounded tips to prevent eye or other injuries.
- If driving children to trick-or-treat, make sure they exit the vehicle on the curbside and not the traffic side.
- Instruct your children not to eat any candy until they bring it home and you examine it thoroughly. Inspect commercially wrapped candy for tampering (unusual appearance, discoloration, tiny pinholes or tears in wrappers). Discard anything suspicious. Throw out homemade treats.
- Do not permit children to bicycle, roller-blade or skateboard while wearing a costume.
- Secure identification (name, address, phone number) on or within a child’s costume. You may also consider writing this information on your child’s arm using a Sharpie-style pen or bracelet.
- Teach children their home phone number and how to call 9-1-1 if they become lost or have an emergency. 9-1-1 service can be dialed free from any phone.
FOR TRICK-OR-TREATERS
- Don’t assume the right-of-way when crossing a street. Motorists may have trouble seeing you. Just because one car stops, doesn’t mean they all will.
- Be very cautious of strangers. A stranger is someone you simply don’t know.
- Trick-or-treaters should only visit houses that have porch lights turned on.
- Never enter a stranger’s house or vehicle. Parents should stress “vehicle” because some children might think it is okay to approach a van or bus.
- Stay on well-lit streets and always use the sidewalk. If no sidewalk is available, walk at the farthest edge of the roadway facing traffic.
- Never cut across yards or use alleys. By crossing a lawn, you might be tripped by holes, caught by clotheslines, lawn ornament or lawn furniture.
- Don’t run! Always walk when crossing streets or going from house to house.
- Cross streets only at corners and crosswalks. Never cross the street from between parked cars.
- Remove mask or any item restricting eyesight before crossing a street.
- Don’t take shortcuts through back alleys or parking lots.
- Cover one side of the street at a time, no crisscrossing.
- Look “left, right, left again” for vehicles before stepping off the curb to cross a street.
- Don’t play near jack-o-lanterns, the candle inside could start a fire.
- Stay with the adult who is leading the group.
- Keep away from open flames or burning candles.
- Try on your costume before Halloween night to make sure it fits properly.
- Stay away from and don’t pet animals you don’t know.
- Don’t eat any treats until you get home.
- Have an adult check all candy before eating it.
- Stay focused on your surroundings. If you feel uncomfortable or threatened, go to the nearest store or restaurant. Call parents or the police.
FOR HOMEOWNERS
- Turn on your porch light. Provide ample outdoor lighting. Check outdoor lights and replace burned-out bulbs.
- Eliminate tripping hazards on your porch, yard and walkway. Hazards such as flowerpots, lawn furniture, lawn decorations, bicycles, children’s toys, ladders, garden hoses, dog leashes, support wires, low tree limbs.
- Remove wet leaves from steps and sidewalk.
- Use battery-powered jack-o-lanterns, candles or light sticks. If candles are used, place pumpkins away from the area where children will be walking or standing to prevent accidental fires.
- Consider handing out candy from your driveway vs porch to reduce porch obstacles and congestion.
- Keep dried leaves and cornstalks away from flames and heat sources.
- Never drape a fabric ghost or other decoration over a light bulb.
- Make sure that paper or cloth lawn decorations do not blow into a burning candle.
- Do not overload electrical outlets or extension cords with lighting or special effects.
- Avoid lighting sidewalks and driveways with luminaries such as small candles inside decorative paper bags. Injuries might result when children are tempted to take a closer look.
- Pets can be frightened by Halloween activities. Keep them locked up or bring them indoors to protect them from vehicles or accidentally hurting trick-or-treaters.
Have an enjoyable and safe Halloween.