Halloween night is a particularly difficult night in regards to defensive driving and driving safety in general. This is one night of the year when the streets are busiest with kids walking around the neighborhood in the dark, most times wearing costumes not designed with car safety in mind (think of a Ninja costume). Dusk is already a bad time of the day for drivers’ visibility anyway, add to that an excited, distracted kid and you have a very high risk scenario.
We have 5 tips for a safer Halloween night:
1. Drive with a particularly defensive driving attitude. Scan the road consistently from one side of the street to the other. Pay particular attention to sidewalks, intersections with poor lighting and streets with cars parked next to the curb. Watch for kids darting across the street.
2. As for anytime behind the wheel, turn the phone off. Especially while driving around an increased number of pedestrians. Do not take your eyes off the road for any reason.
3. Slow down. Think of the neighborhood streets as if you are driving through a School Zone. In fact there are more and younger kids walking around the street Halloween’s night that in a normal School Zone time. Most residential streets have a speed limit of 20 mph, we suggest 15 mph. A driver reaction time is no match for a kid darting across the road.
4. Be extra vigilant approaching parked vehicles and when backing out of driveways. Some of the kids are young and small enough not to be visible in the rear view mirrors.
5. Parents – Brighten the kids up! Give them flashlights, led lights and anything that can make them more visible. Consider a refresher in street safety and how not to cross the road. Make your young Frankenstein or Cinderella more visible using reflective tape… their costumes will still be cool.
We wish all a safe Halloween night. Please share this post!
