Read this before you go anywhere on Halloween this year

                     Halloween Safety Tips for 2014
When Halloween happens to fall on a Friday means that 

there is much more traffic out there both on foot and on the roads.  Also there will be more chances of alcohol related accidents than if Halloween was to fall on a week day.  When it's on a Friday there will be more parties, more people and more people drinking and driving.  There will be kids everywhere tonight out walking all around and coming across streets seemingly from out of nowhere.  They will all be out late tonight because it's a Friday and it's Halloween.

 Drive slow and be prepared.  Watch out for sudden stops too.   I'm just sharing the facts.  So keep your eyes and ears on and be sure and pay attention to the "other guy" wherever you are because you may be doing everything smart tonight but that "other guy" may be distracted by trick or treaters, or looking for a party place or could possibly be drunk.  Also when Halloween falls on a weekend there could be more people out and about all weekend not just tonight.  

Motor vehicle fatalities increase 37 percent on average when October 31 is on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday compared to other days of the week, according to the past decade of data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Sperling’s BestPlaces analyzed more than four million records in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) from 1990 – 2010 for children 0-18 years of age on October 31. That detailed analysis revealed the following:

Halloween Was Deadliest Day of the Year for Child Pedestrian Accidents

One hundred and fifteen child pedestrian fatalities occurred on Halloween over the 21 years of our analysis. That is an average of 5.5 fatalities each year on October 31, which is more than double the average number of 2.6 fatalities for other days.

Did you know that...

• Young drivers ages 15-25 accounted for nearly one-third of all fatal accidents involving child pedestrians on Halloween.
• Over 70% of the accidents occurred away from an intersection or crosswalk.
• About 4,400 people in the United States visited emergency rooms in 2013 for Halloween-related injuries, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. 
• Most of the fatalities occurred with children ages 12-15  (32% of all child fatalities) Which is also the ages that are most often roaming the streets without parents and with distractions like friends and cellphones.

Another danger is "distracted walking" I think we have all seen this happen frequently.  Someone is walking and looking at their cell phone at the same time.  Teens do this fairly often but I'm certain that all ages are guilty of this at times as well. especially when we are taking more pictures than usual which tonight would be the biggest threat to a "distracted walker."

Have a Safe and Happy Halloween from Read More Books!

If you can think of any other tips to stay safe this Halloween then leave a comment and you can help keep us safe this year.