Keep Your Kids Safe This Halloween

October 18, 2017

Halloween is around the corner, and if you have kids, they’re probably excited to put on a costume and go trick-or-treating. While Halloween can be a great and fun experience, it can also end in tragedy if you don’t follow proper safety precautions. There are a myriad of dangers inherent to typical Halloween activities, but these dangers can be reduced with a little thought and foresight.

The Most Dangerous Halloween Activity

The worst danger at Halloween doesn’t come from poisoned candy or ill-intentioned neighbors. Instead, it comes from something we do every day – walking. The number of pedestrian accidents rises on Halloween night, and twice as many children are injured or killed from being hit by a car on Halloween as on any other night of the year.

There are a number of reasons for this rise in pedestrian accidents, including:

• Children can’t see as well if they’re wearing a mask
• Dark costumes make it hard for drivers to see small children
• Residential neighborhoods are often dark, making it hard to see children walking on the street
• Halloween is a night when many people drink, thus causing a rise in drunk driving accidents
• Parents may be drinking while their child is trick-or-treating, and not supervising well enough
• Unsupervised children may run into the street unexpectedly or not follow traffic signals

Help Prevent Pedestrian Accidents on Halloween

There are steps parents can take to help reduce the risk of their child being hit by a car on Halloween. These include:

• Make sure your child is able to move easily in his or her costume
• Supervise small children at all times, and make sure older children know to stay on the sidewalk, watch for cars when crossing the street, and follow the rules of traffic
• Place fluorescent tape or another kind of highly visible material on your child’s costume so that people can see them in the dark
• If you plan on drinking, do not plan on driving. In addition, if you know you’ll be drinking a lot, consider hiring a babysitter to take your kids out trick or treating instead of doing it yourself

Unfortunately, even with the best planning, accidents do sometimes happen. If the worst happens and your child is severely injured or killed on Halloween, call pedestrian accident lawyer Karl Truman to help you obtain justice and compensation. Mr. Truman will treat you with compassion and sensitivity, and help you through your ordeal.

Other Dangers on Halloween

Other Halloween dangers to be aware of include the risk of fire from burning candles, illness or allergies caused by ingredients in face paint, and children tripping over their costumes and falling.

If you are burning candles as part of your Halloween decorations, make sure that they are not placed near anything flammable and that they are put out if you leave the house. Burn injuries can be devastating and cause long-term disfiguration, and losing your house to fire is not how anyone wants to remember Halloween.

Face paint is also something to be wary of, especially cheap face paints sold in most Halloween themed stores. Many of these face paint kits are made in China and may include dangerous materials such as lead, nickel, or chromium. Check the ingredients before buying face paints, and perform an allergy check by painting a small patch of skin before painting the full face.

Schedule Your Free Consultation

If you or your child is injured on Halloween due to someone else’s negligence, don’t hesitate to contact Karl Truman at 502-306-0709 for your free consultation and case evaluation.

We serve clients in Louisville, Kentucky and Jeffersonville, Indiana.