If you’re not hanging out at home or rushing kids through the neighborhood on foot in search of candy this Halloween, chances are you’re going to be out driving, and if that’s the case, there’s no reason that you have to be involved in an Arizona pedestrian accident. But protecting yourself from being involved in a serious accident with a single trick or treater, or a full group of ghouls and goblins, can be a bit tricky.
After all, there will be more kids of all ages and sizes out on the streets throughout the evening and into the darkest hours of the night and early morning, and many of them may be wearing dark costumes, making them difficult to see, even if you’re paying close attention. Having a good plan for driving safely while maneuvering through a sea of trick or treaters is not just a good idea, but also an important component of having a fun night out on Halloween.
Make Safe Driving Plans Before You Leave the House to Avoid Trick or Treating Disasters
While you normally think about making safe driving decisions while you are out on the road, Halloween requires a different approach to safety altogether. Making plans in advance of leaving your home, and with appropriate information about the evening’s activities, can help you to make the right decisions that will keep you and all the kids in your neighborhood, and surrounding neighborhoods, safe all night long.
Decide well in advance how you’ll be celebrating the spookiest time of the year. Having a firm plan as to how you plan to spend the evening and the night for Halloween will help you make plans for driving routes and being safer in every neighborhood.
Plan well so that you don’t have to rush on the evening of your plans; rushing is most likely to take your mind off the road, and when your mind is off the road, it’s not on the multitude of kids that will be running through the streets after dark.
Decide whether or not you are going to drink and make appropriate preparations in advance. This might mean making plans to stay in a hotel near to clubs where you’ll be partying, to stay at a friend’s home where you’ll be attending a party, or to set up a cab or a pickup service if you intend to go home but don’t have a designated driver. No matter what you decide to do, keep a pickup or cab service number in your phone or otherwise easily accessible so that you have access to it all evening long. Even if you don’t need it, someone else at a party may need it.
Map your route. To many, mapping the route to and from your destinations for Halloween night might seem like overkill, but it’s the best way to determine how many times you’ll be crossing paths with kiddos in costumes. Neighborhoods with many schools and churches, trick or treat, kid-friendly parties and activities, and more, are more likely to be danger zones for driving. That’s because the more kid-friendly an area is on Halloween, the more likely you are to encounter multiple groups of kids. Mapping your route is also especially important if you are going to a party destination that you’ve never been to in the past. Knowing where you are going will make you less likely to have an accident if you encounter problems along the way.
Research the most popular costumes for kids and teenagers while you’re researching your own. Whether or not you have children, it’s important to take a look at the types of costumes that will be out on the streets of your neighborhood after dark. Every year has different popular costumes, but it’s important to remember that in addition to the costumes of the year, you’re also likely to come across plenty of witches, bats, spiders, monkeys, and vampires. And why is that important? Standard “spooky” Halloween costumes are often dark in color, and even some popular costumes may turn “invisible” when the sun goes down. And while kids may think it is cool, it’s dangerous for drivers.
Make Safe Halloween Driving Plans While You’re Out and About
Making safe driving plans for Halloween before you head out for the evening is important to keeping you safe from harm and out of an accident. But that doesn’t mean that you don’t have to continue making plans and keeping your safety in mind while you’re out having a good time. It is critical to keep your safety and your plans for the night on your mind while you’re out partying so that you can make the most important and safest decisions about your movements from one party to the next and your movements to make it home.
Monitor your alcohol intake. If you’ve had more than a couple of drinks, and you intend to keep drinking, you need to make firm decisions about making it home safely. If you drove your own vehicle it is important to find a sober friend to help drive your vehicle home, or a safe place to leave it so that you can take a cab or a pickup service.
Decide how long you’re going to stay out and whether you’re capable to drive home after many hours out on the town. Even if you’re not drinking, partying all night can be exhausting, and driving while fatigued can have the same impact on your faculties as driving while drunk. Start planning your exit from the party about 30 minutes to 45 minutes before you actually intend to leave. When you’re having a good time it may be difficult to leave. The longer you stay, the more likely you are to drink too much or become too tired to drive home.
Practice Safe Driving on Your Way Home to Avoid an Arizona Pedestrian Accident
When you leave for Halloween parties, there is typically still a bit of light outside, making it easier to spot children on the side of the road who are about to cross to get to more houses and more candy. But when you come home from your night out, it will be dark outside and nothing will be like you’d normally expect. Check out these tips for keeping yourself out of an Arizona pedestrian accident involving a ghost or a witch on a broom.
Drive more slowly. It’s difficult to imagine why you’d need to drive more slowly on streets you are accustomed to driving on every day of the week. Driving in your own neighborhood is intuitive. But on Halloween, kids run across busy roads and dart out from behind trees and off of sidewalks more often and more quickly, it seems, than on other days of the year. Add the darkness to that, and you’re in for a double whammy.
Make sure that your headlights are turned on. When you’ve been out partying, it’s typical to forget to turn your headlights on, making it more difficult to see in the dark. Even a few drinks may also cause you to experience “tunnel vision,” losing your ability to use your peripheral vision to see kids on the side of the road.
Keep an extra eye out for kids. Late at night, you don’t expect to see children running around the neighborhood. But on Halloween, kids in dark costumes and clothing may be running around late into the night and into the early morning hours. Teenagers are even more likely to still be out, playing pranks and having fun with their friends. Keeping your wits about you is critical to staying safe and preventing Arizona pedestrian accidents.
Slow down to a “driving crawl” before entering your driveway. You never know where little ghouls and goblins may be hiding. Away from the road, and close to your home, you may have less lighting, making it even more difficult to see kids on sidewalks and crossing through your yard than out on the street.
While it is difficult to get used to the idea of extra driving safety precautions around Halloween, it is important to remember that the extra preparations might take time, but they will serve you well. Paying extra attention to the holiday before you even leave the house and as you’re prepping your own celebrations. Keeping your safety and the safety of trick or treaters on your mind while you’re out having a great time, and being “extra safe” on the way home no matter what time you leave the celebrations are all ways that you can protect yourself from being involved in an Arizona pedestrian accident.
And don’t forget, if you’re heading out from the comfort and safety of your own home to get spooked or have a spell put on you this Halloween, you’ve got to take extra precautions to keep yourself safe on the road and at the celebration, so that the house party doesn’t become a haunted house party.