Halloween is around the corner, and kids around the Dallas-Fort Worth area are looking forward to putting on their costumes and going trick-or-treating. Plenty of college students and adults will be going to Halloween parties, too. While the spooky holiday is a lot of fun, it’s also a dangerous night when a lot of people can get injured or hurt in accidents.
Vehicles Put Kids at Risk on Halloween
In the U.S., approximately 16 kids under the age of 18 are killed in auto accidents every day. On Halloween, that number goes way up. The Washington Post found that from 2004 through 2018, an average of 54 kids were killed by vehicles each Halloween.
A few years ago, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) released a study based on 42 years of data. They found that children aged 4 to 8 were almost 10 times more likely to be fatally struck by cars on Halloween than on any other night.
These sad statistics make sense when you think about Halloween activities. Kids go trick-or-treating at dusk, which happens to be a time when many accidents occur as the daylight fades. And, of course there are many more pedestrians out on Halloween, raising the chances of a collision. To top it off, plenty of adults drive while intoxicated as they go to and from their Halloween parties, making the roads even more dangerous.
Tips for Safer Trick-or-Treating
Here are some easy tips to help keep you and your children safe during trick-or-treating:
- Make sure costumes fit kids properly to reduce the chance of tripping and falling.
- Don’t have kids wear masks that make it too hard for them to see.
- Always carry a flashlight to make yourself more visible to cars.
- Teach kids to cross streets carefully.
- Teach kids to stay on the sidewalk and not walk in the road.
Halloween Safety Tips for Drivers
If you’re out driving around Dallas-Fort Worth on Halloween, be sure to:
- Plan ahead because you know there will be slow-moving traffic.
- Drive slowly in residential areas.
- Avoid using your cell phone or texting while driving.
- Avoid driving after drinking.
Halloween Safety Tips for Homeowners
You can make your property safer on Halloween with a few easy steps:
- Turn on the porch light if you’re handing out candy (the light helps avoid slips and falls).
- Don’t use real candles in your jack-o’lanterns, because they’re a fire risk.
- Make sure your Halloween decorations aren’t dangerous to kids.
- Keep pets away from trick-or-treaters so neither the animals nor the kids get frightened or hurt.
Hurt on Halloween? Call Our Dallas-Fort Worth Law Firm
If you or your child get hurt this Halloween, and you believe the incident was someone else’s fault, reach out to the personal injury attorneys of Ted B. Lyon & Associates in Dallas. You can get a free consultation to learn about your legal options by calling 877-Ted-Lyon / 877-833-5966 or by contacting us online. Have a safe and happy Halloween!
