Watch Your Step

Every Halloween, monsters, zombies and ghouls fill the streets across the United States to celebrate. And if that’s not scary enough, AAA uncovered some frightening statistics. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, October 31 is the deadliest night of the year for pedestrians.

“On Halloween, motorists need to be especially vigilant between the hours of 4 p.m. and midnight, when pedestrians are most vulnerable,” said Jennifer Huebner Davidson, AAA manager of traffic safety advocacy. “Slowing down, watching for trick-or-treaters who may cross between cars or mid-block and designating a sober driver may save a life.”

To help make the roadways safer this Halloween, AAA offers motorists a few easy tips:

• Avoid neighborhood shortcuts. If possible, avoid cutting through residential streets where trick-or-treaters are likely to be present. When providing directions to a party, try not to route guests through neighborhoods unnecessarily.
• Watch for children in the street. Watch for children walking on streets, medians and curbs. Excited trick-or-treaters, often in dark costumes, may not pay attention to traffic and cross mid-block or between parked cars.
• Slow down. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, a pedestrian is more than twice as likely to be killed if they’re hit by a car traveling at 35 mph compared to 25 mph. What seems like a small difference—just 10 mph—can be the difference between life and death