Trick or Treating Road Safety

Halloween is one of the most anticipated holidays of the year. It's an exciting time to dress up like wacky and scary characters and trick-or-treat around town. Be sure to keep your kids safe while trick-or-treating with these quick tips:

Stand out in the dark

Parents and children should wear brightly colored clothing at night. If you are wearing a costume that is dark in color, be sure to apply reflective tape to parts of your clothes and shoes and consider wearing glow stick jewelry.

Make sure your child can see

Sometimes younger children struggle seeing through costume facemasks. Before leaving the house, make sure your child can properly see through the eyeholes of the facemask. This will prevent them from tripping, falling or running into something while they're trick-or-treating.

Follow the rules

If you are trick-or-treating in the city, be sure to follow traffic safety rules. Enforce looking both ways before crossing the street. Be sure to remain on the sidewalks and walk at a normal pace. Many communities enforce a Halloween curfew to prevent children from roaming after dark. Check your community for pertinent curfew rules.

Only visit familiar places

Take your children trick-or-treating in neighborhoods and venues where you know people. Avoid strange houses or places that seem unsafe. Many attractions offer trick-or-treating so that you can trick-or-treat during the day or inside a well-lit area. Museums, libraries, orchards, and the mall are great places to trick-or-treat.

Thoroughly inspect all candy

While this is a commonly known rule of trick-or-treating, sometimes treats slip through the cracks. Don't let your kids eat anything until you get home and check the candy first. Parents should remove all unwrapped candy and treats from bags and buckets and inspect wrappers for holes. When in doubt, throw it out.