Safe Kids Greater Naugatuck Valley, Griffin Hospital and FedEx urge parents to prepare children to act safely and drivers to be particularly alert.
“Parents need to talk to kids about safety before they go out trick-or-treating,” said Cathi Kellett, Coordinator, Safe Kids Greater Naugatuck Valley. "Many kids will be out trick-or-treating while it is dark when it is more difficult for drivers to see them. There are several easy and effective behaviors that parents can share with kids to help reduce their risk of injury. For example, children younger than age 12 should not be alone crossing streets on Halloween without an adult. If older kids are mature enough to go trick-or-treating without adult supervision, parents should make sure they go in a group and stick to a predetermined route with good lighting.”
In preparation for Halloween, Safe Kids Greater Naugatuck Valley will team up with Walk This Way program sponsor FedEx to provide kids with reflective materials to promote visibility, including zipper tags that can be attached to costumes and trick-or-treat bags, as well as important safety information for children, parents, and drivers.
Drivers need to be extra alert as there will be more children on the streets and sidewalks – and those kids may be focused on gathering candy and caught up in the excitement of the holiday rather than being careful while crossing streets. "Safe Kids and FedEx urge drivers to slow down on neighborhood roads to make Halloween more enjoyable for everyone, but also to help save lives," Kellett said.
Top safety tips Safe Kids and FedEx recommend for parents:
- Cross the street safely at corners, using traffic signals and crosswalks. Look left, right and left again when crossing and keep looking as you cross. Walk, don’t run, across the street.
- Walk on sidewalks or paths. If there are no sidewalks, walk facing traffic as far to the left as possible. Children should walk on direct routes with the fewest street crossings.
- Slow down and stay alert - watch out for cars that are turning or backing up and never dart out into the street or cross in between parked cars.
- Costumes can be both creative and safe. Decorate costumes and bags with reflective tape or stickers and, if possible, choose light colors. Masks can obstruct a child's vision, so choose non-toxic face paint and make-up whenever possible instead. Have kids carry glow sticks or flashlights in order to see better, as well as be seen by drivers.
- Slow down in residential neighborhoods. Remember that popular trick-or-treating hours are 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.
- Be especially alert and take extra time to look for kids at intersections, on medians and on curbs. Children are excited on Halloween and may move in unpredictable ways.
- Reduce any distractions inside your car, such as talking on the phone or eating, so you can concentrate on the road and your surroundings.
Every day, more than 75,000 FedEx vehicles are on the road, sharing the streets with pedestrians, fueling the company's dedication to pedestrian safety and sharing the lessons of safe driving that FedEx has learned over the past 39 years.
Over the past 13 years, the Walk This Way program has expanded to include Brazil, Canada, China, India, Mexico, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines where it has educated more than four million children.
Safe Kids Greater Naugatuck Valley works to prevent unintentional childhood injury, the number one cause of death for children in the United States. Its members include local police, fire, EMS, schools, LNV Boys & Girls Clubs, TEAM Headstart, Derby Elks, and VSAAC. Safe Kids Greater Naugatuck Valley is a member of Safe Kids Worldwide, a global network of organizations dedicated to preventing unintentional injury. Safe Kids Greater Naugatuck Valley was founded in 2004 and is led by Griffin Hospital and the Valley Parish Nurses.
For information, visit safekids.org.
This is taken from a release from Griffin Hospital.
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