Local law enforcement is reminding everyone to have a safe and Happy Halloween. Officials are offering some safety tips for adults and children before heading out to trick-or-treat this year.
TRICK-OR-TREAT TIPS:
- Be sure costumes are flame retardant.
- Keep costume short to prevent tripping/falling (bumps in the night).
- Try make up instead of a mask that may obstruct vision (when crossing streets and going up and down steps). Masks can also be hot.
- Be sure kids wear light colored costumes or reflective tape on costumes so they can be seen by drivers.
- Create a map of a safe trick or treat area. Set a time limit for the kids to go by.
- Kids should stay in groups and parents should accompany young children.
- Older kids should trick or treat with friends, and parents should KNOW where they are going.
- Tell older kids to stop only at familiar houses and only when the lights are on.
- Try to get your kids to trick or treat while it is still light out.
- If it is dark out, make sure they take a flashlight with them.
- Make sure children know their home address and telephone number(s).
- Make sure children know how to use 9-1-1 properly.
- Teach children how to say "NO" in a loud voice if someone tries to get them to go somewhere, accept anything other than a treat, or leave with them.
- Teach children not to approach vehicles.
ADULTS:
- Welcome trick-or-treaters with your porch lights and any exterior lights on.
- Sweep leaves from sidewalks and steps.
- Clear the porch and/or front yard of obstacles a child could trip over.
- Restrain household pets.
- Use a glow stick in the Jack-O-Lantern instead of a candle to avoid a fire hazard.
- Patrol your neighborhood occasionally to discourage speeding motorists, acts of malicious mischief and/or crimes against children.
- Report any and all suspicious activity to your local law enforcement agency immediately.
- Keep all of the doors locked at your home (even if you are just "out front" handing out candy). Halloween is a night when many homes are burglarized because parents are out with the kids.
- Do not give out homemade or unwrapped treats to children.
CHILDREN:
- Do not go inside anyone's home.
- Do not accept rides from strangers.
- Keep a safe distance from moving cars.
- Cross the street only at street corners, never between parked cars, and never diagonally across an intersection.
- Look in ALL directions before crossing a street. Obey all traffic signals. Walk, never run across the street.
- Use sidewalks - NOT the street for walking.
- Do not take shortcuts through back yards, alleys, or parks.
- Do not eat any treat until your parent has inspected it.
- Be cautious around pets and any other animals.
MOTORISTS:
- Exercise extreme caution when operating your vehicle.
- Be alert for excited youngsters whose vision may be obscured by masks. These children may inadvertently dart in front of your vehicle if unattended.
- Slow down.