Halloween is an exciting time. With trick-or-treating, parties, and a host of other festivities, the season is a busy one. However, with all the fun comes some danger—not the kind you find in a haunted house. Halloween presents many real dangers, especially for children. According to Safe Kids Worldwide, children are twice as likely to get hit by a car on Halloween. Our personal injury attorneys at Winstein, Kavensky & Cunningham offer these Halloween safety tips to keep you and your family safe.
Safety Tips for Trick or Treating
- Do not allow your child to trick or treat alone. Even older children need adult supervision.
- Older children might want to trick or treat with friends. Make sure you know where your child will be at all times. Inspect their planned route and ensure it is in a safe area.
- Ensure all costumes fit correctly.
- Costumes that are too big and long can drag the ground and cause your child to trip and fall.
- Avoid costumes with masks that can limit visibility and inhibit breathing.
- Additionally, make sure any costumes are made with non-flammable materials to prevent burn injuries or the inhalation of harmful chemicals.
- Always carry a flashlight when outside at night, trick or treating.
- Having a flashlight on will increase your visibility to motorists.
- Using a flashlight while walking prevents slip-and-fall accidents caused by uneven surfaces, holes in the ground, debris, and decorations.
- Add reflective tape to your child’s costume to increase visibility to cars and other vehicles. This will help avoid a potentially deadly pedestrian accident.
- Teach your kids never to assume they have the right of way when crossing the street and always to establish eye contact with drivers.
- Remind your children never to take a ride from a stranger or go with a stranger to another location.
- Additionally, remind them to only trick or treat at homes with the lights on.
- When crossing the street or walking, put your devices away. Keep an eye out for cars, and keep your head up at all times.
- Teach your children to always use the sidewalk, to cross the street only at designated crosswalks, and to indicate turns to cross the street safely.
- Inspect your child’s candy before allowing them to eat any of it, and discard any homemade treats or unwrapped candy.
Halloween Safety Tips for Drivers
- Drive slowly, especially in a residential neighborhood. Expect delays and slow-moving traffic. Do not speed.
- If you have plans to leave during trick-or-treating hours, plan to leave early and maybe add extra time to get to your destination, especially if you live in a popular trick-or-treating neighborhood.
- Avoid driving distracted. It is not worth causing an accident to reply to a text message or answer a call.
Halloween Safety Tips for Homeowners
- Turn your porch light on if you are handing out candy during trick or treating. This signals that you are participating and adds extra light to prevent a slip-and-fall accident.
- Make sure your light is off if you are not handing out candy.
- Avoid using real candles in jack-o’-lanterns. They can easily be turned over and can cause a fire.
- Keep stairs and walking areas well-lit and clear of any possible hazards.
- Do not use decorations that can harm curious children, as this can leave you open to an attractive nuisance lawsuit.
- Keep pets away from trick-or-treaters. Noise and costumes can frighten dogs. When dogs are scared, they often act aggressively, leading to a dog bite.
Safety Tips for Halloween Party Planners
- If you are hosting a Halloween party, do not allow guests to leave while intoxicated. Take their keys away, use a rideshare app, or have someone pick them up to avoid a DUI.
- Have plenty of food and non-alcoholic beverages for guests.
- Regardless of who provides the alcohol, social liability laws may make you responsible for parties where minors consume alcohol. You may also be held accountable for your guests’ actions after the event.
Injured on Halloween? Call Winstein, Kavensky & Cunningham
We hope everyone celebrating has a safe and happy Halloween with their friends and family. If you are injured or need additional legal assistance after a Halloween accident, our team of personal injury attorneys can help you obtain compensation and justice for your injuries, or defend you in court.
We’ve helped clients and injury victims in Rock Island, Henry, Mercer, Whiteside, and Knox counties in Illinois or Scott, Clinton, Muscatine, Cedar, and Jackson counties in Iowa. Winstein, Kavensky & Cunningham provides free case consultations. To get started with yours, contact us us 24/7 by phone at (309) 794-1515, via LiveChat, or by filling out our contact form.