Posted: 10/27/2015
Talk to your little ghouls about Halloween safety
Halloween is a time of ghoulish pranks and spooky encounters, but one of the world’s oldest holidays can be a little less frightening by following some simple tips from the Dallas County Hospital District Police Department.
One of the most important things is to talk to your little trick-or-treaters about safety.
“At home, in class and in after-school programs we talk to youngsters about ‘stranger danger’ and to not accept rides or candy from those they don’t know,” said Sgt. Robert Johnson, Crime Prevention Coordinator with the Parkland police. “But then on Halloween everyone’s excited to dress up and go door-to-door to see what types of goodies they’ll receive. That’s why I caution that children should only go to homes where they know who lives there.”
And, Sgt. Johnson said, they should go in groups, always have an adult with them and even if the adult is waiting on the sidewalk never, ever go inside to collect candy. He also cautions pedestrians never to dart in the street between parked cars, and for drivers to be aware of neighborhood ghosts and goblins.
Halloween is one of the deadliest nights of the year because there are more drunken drivers and pedestrians on the road, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In 2012, the last year statistics are available, 48 percent of fatal crashes on Halloween involved drunken drivers, compared with 31 percent on an average day that year, the agency said.
It is especially dangerous for pedestrians, who account for about one of every four people killed in crashes each year on Oct. 31, double the average for an ordinary day, according to the agency.
“It may be even more dangerous this year,” Sgt. Johnson said. “Since Halloween is Saturday, there may be even more partiers than when it falls on a weekday.”
Recognizing that autumn events like Halloween are fun times, the Centers for Disease Control offers the following tips for a safe ghoulish outing:
- Swords, knives and similar costume accessories should be short, soft and flexible
- Avoid trick-or-treating alone. Walk in groups or with a trusted adult
- Fasten reflective tape to costumes and bags to help drivers see you
- Examine all treats for choking hazards and tampering before eating them
- Hold a flashlight while trick-or-treating to help you see and others see you
- Always test make-up in a small area first. Remove it before bedtime to prevent skin and eye irritation
- Look both ways before crossing the street
- Lower your risk for serious eye injury by not wearing decorative contact lenses
- Only walk on sidewalks or on the far edge of the road facing traffic to stay safe
- Wear well-fitting masks, costumes and shoes to avoid blocked vision, trips and falls
- Eat only factory-wrapped treats
- Enter homes only if you’re with a trusted adult. Otherwise, stay outside
- Never walk near lit candles or luminaries. Be sure to wear flame-resistant costumes
If you or a loved one consumes an item you have concerns about, the staff of the North Texas Poison Center (NTPC), housed at Parkland, is ready to answer any poison-related questions on its toll-free hotline at 1.800.222.1222.
Last year poison information specialists received 1,696 calls between Oct. 27 and Nov. 2. Of those, 1,269 were calls involving exposures to various substances and 421 were for information. In 2014, the NTPC received 84,314 calls. The staff assessed, triaged and monitored more than 59,361 poisoned patients of which 65.5 percent were managed at home.