We all know that Halloween is a night full of ghosts and goblins and, of course, candy. We also all know that Halloween is a night we should use extra caution while driving through our neighborhoods, but let’s take a moment to refresh.
First of all, if you and/or your child/children are walking the streets Halloween night, be on the defensive. You may have the cutest most awesome costume in the world, but especially if it’s a dark color, take a few precautions to ensure you are seen after dark. Whenever possible choose light colors for your costume; apply reflective tape all over (ok...maybe be generous but you don’t have to ruin the effect of the costume); use face paint instead of masks since they tend to limit vision; and carry a flashlight making sure it’s batteries are charged and that it’s actually on. Sometimes Captain Obvious is a good thing.
For everyone walking in the dark, these are some good precautions: Stick to neighborhoods with sidewalks; teach your children to make eye contact with drivers to ensure they’ve been seen; cross at crosswalks and don’t jaywalk; put the phone away or any other device (or book… because I’m sure you kiddo is reading a good book while trick-or-treating) to keep distractions to a minimum.
If you’re out driving the roads on Halloween night, make sure that you, also, are not reading a good book or playing on your phone. Slow down and don’t be in a hurry. Turn your lights on earlier in the evening just in case some kiddos are out early as even when the sun’s still up, you’re more likely to spot a person walking down the road. The most popular times for trick-or-treating is between 5:30-9:30. When you see trick-or-treaters, go extra slow because you never know how the excitement, or the sugar, might affect them and send one of them running erratically into the road. Okay… so you probably don’t have to be THAT concerned, but they do tend to get excited and can tend to forget to look before crossing over to meet a friend or hit up another house.
Halloween is intended to be a fun night and it can be exactly that. A little bit of precaution goes a very long way. All of us at Robert’s Collision & Repair want you to stay safe of Halloween and the 364 days every year. We are here for you to make sure that you stay as safe as possible, and don’t hesitate to drop on by to make sure your headlights are both working right before you head out the door to your own Halloween fun! And for goodness sake, DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE! That would be the worst trick of all.