Northport Police Offers Halloween Safety Tips

As Halloween approaches, Northport Police is urging residents to keep safe, especially when trick-or-treating and driving.

The number of child pedestrians ages 0 to 14 fatally injured on Halloween has been nearly three times higher than the daily average over the last decade, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

“On Halloween, we’re placing our children in probably some of the most dangerous traffic situations you could imagine,” Northport Police Chief Bill Ricca said. “This year, Halloween lands on a Tuesday, so you may expect trick-or-treaters out in the after-school and early evening hours when lighting conditions are poor at dusk. We ask drivers to take extra care on the roads at these times.”

Ricca offers these tips from AAA to parents and their children on Halloween:

• Be bright at night; use reflective tape on costumes and treat bags, wear light colors and carry flashlights and glow sticks for extra visibility.
• Don’t wear a costume that obstructs vision. Use makeup instead of a mask.
• Wear a costume you can walk in – comfortable footwear and nothing that drags on the ground.
• Look all ways and listen for traffic before crossing streets and driveways.
• Work one side of the street at a time, crossing only at corners and crosswalks. Stay out of the roadway!
• Younger children should always be accompanied by an adult or trustworthy teen; older children should be given boundaries and should communicate with their parents along the way.

AAA suggests the following tips for motorists on Halloween:

• Try to avoid cutting through residential areas where Trick-or-Treaters are likely to be present.
• Obey all traffic signs and signals, and travel with extreme caution in residential areas.
• Scan far ahead and watch attentively for children who may be excitedly running from house to house or crossing at unexpected places.
• Avoid driving distractions, even after traditional trick-or-treat hours – older children and teens may be out without adult supervision.
• And it goes without saying, if you’re attending an adult Halloween party where alcohol is being served, be sure to have a designated driver!

Patch photo