Help Keep Trick-or-Treaters Safe: Spot the Tot and Other Halloween Safety Tips for Drivers

Children are more than twice as likely to be hit by a car on Halloween than any other day of the year, according to the National Safety Council. By month, in 2017, October ranked No. 2 nationally for motor vehicle deaths with 3,550. August was first with 3,642 deaths.

Here are a few Halloween safety tips for drivers:  

• Use extra caution when driving right before sunset due to the sun’s glare on your windshield. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends cleaning your windshield before trick-or-treating time.
• Slow down. Kids in costume are hard to see after dark and may dart into the road unexpectedly. 
• Use these Spot the Tot techniques to help prevent accidental back-overs or front-overs: 
  • If you drive on Halloween, be sure to walk all the way around the car before you get in to ensure children are not behind your vehicle. 
  • Roll down your car windows and listen for children.
  • Turn off distractions, including your mobile phone and music, before pulling out of a driveway. 
  • Ask an adult to stay with children at the home while you exit a driveway. 
• Consider backing your vehicle into the driveway during daylight hours so if you must drive Halloween night, you don’t have to back out. While this doesn’t eliminate risk – children also can be injured in accidental front-overs – it can help reduce it.
• Be sure all passengers are properly restrained using the seatbelt, booster seat or car seat appropriate for their age and weight. Buckle up after each stop, the NHTSA recommends.

For more information, visit primarychildrens.org/safety.