Pedestrian Fatalities, the Real Scare on Halloween

Halloween is just around the corner and with it comes the greatest risk of a child being struck by a motor vehicle all year.? Children between the ages of 0-17 are three times more likely to be hit by a car on Halloween, and for the group between the ages of 4-8, the odds go up to ten times as much as a normal day.? That is a sizable jump in risk.?

To be fair, the raw number is still fairly low when compared to the number of kids out and about on Halloween. ?But, it still should make us all think about how we can prevent children from being struck by a car on Halloween, which comes down to two things: being seen and not being distracted.

Be Seen on Halloween

Being seen on Halloween is no easy task.? For much of the country, it is getting dark earlier and many families will be doing their trick-or-treating at dusk or after dark.? Unfortunately, many costumes are hard to see at night.? There is no such thing as a neon Dark Knight or a hot pink Black Panther.? And many costumes have masks that make it difficult for kids to see clearly.

Give your kids every advantage to see and be seen that you can.? Have them wear something bright or reflective, or at least have them wear or carry something that lights up.? It could be a flashlight, a glowing lightsaber, or some other light-up costume elements.? And make sure that your kids can see clearly.? Avoid masks that limit their vision and instead, opt for face paint or nothing at all.

Being seen is important for all pedestrians, not just kids on Halloween.? This is why so many workplaces and worksites require high-visibility clothing.?? We want our construction or warehouse workers to be seen easily by folks driving cars, trucks, or forklifts.??And we should make an effort to be highly visible outside near traffic every day, not just on Halloween.?

Avoid Distraction

It might be a reach to ask children to avoid being distracted on Halloween.? We are dressing them up and doing something novel and exciting by going door-to-door asking for candy.? Their friends will be out and there will be all sorts of interesting and scary decorations to check out.? ? Throw in a bit of sugar and chocolate and you have the makings for a completely distracted child.? So it is important that parents encourage their kids to pay attention near traffic, but also anticipate that they will have trouble avoiding all the distractions.

Both pedestrians and drivers need to avoid distractions while they are in motion.? They both have a responsibility to keep their eyes and attention on where they are going when they're walking or driving.

Now, here is a very large caveat, when it comes to a vehicle versus a pedestrian incident, the majority of the responsibility to avoid this incident resides with the driver of the vehicle.? The driver has a greater responsibility because they have greater power in the form of a big heavy machine.? With great power comes great responsibility, (Hat tip to Spiderman).? They are operating the thing that can hurt, maim, or kill a person, and so they need to be vigilant and observant while they’re driving.? Don't drive distracted!

Having said that, there are things that pedestrians should be doing to protect themselves too.? For example, put the phone down when you’re walking.? I can not tell you how often I see people walking near vehicles that can crush them, with their faces focused on some electronic device in their hands.? There are tons of videos with people walking into signs, parked cars, fountains, and even oncoming traffic because they are walking distracted.? It is dangerous to drive a car while distracted by a phone and it is dangerous to walk while distracted by a phone too.?

Speaking of distraction. . . When you look at fatal pedestrian incidents you’ll see that they were declining from about 1980 until 2009.? But then they started to increase and they have been increasing each year since then.?? I haven’t done exhaustive research on what conditions changed in 2009, I don’t know if people are walking a lot more, or whether there was some dramatic change in crosswalks or not, but what I do know is that the smartphone was invented in 2007.??

The first iPhone was released in 2007 and about a million were sold that year. ?In 2008 another ten million were in people’s hands, and then another twenty million in 2009.? ?And the numbers keep going up and up from there.? And that isn’t even counting all of the Android, Google, and other smartphone variants.? In 2010 about 20% of the U.S. population had a highly engaging and addictive device in their possession, and we also saw an increase in the number and rate of fatal automobile vs pedestrian incidents.??

As smartphone sales continued to increase so did the number of fatal pedestrian incidents.? I know that correlation is not causation, but I also know what I can see with my own eyes, there are lots of people driving and walking distracted.? Next time you are on a busy city street look around and see just how many people have their faces focused on their phones and not on where they are going.?

Distraction is deadly.?? When we’re walking or driving we need to be looking at where we’re going and not at our smartphones.? Don’t drive or walk distracted.??

On Halloween, put the phone away when you're driving or walking, and keep your eyes and mind on where you are going.

Have a safe and happy Halloween!