Each year in the United States, more children die at the hands of drivers than from any other cause. This risk is highest on Halloween: children are three times as likely to be killed by a driver on Halloween than they are on a normal day.
With each Halloween season comes new lists of safety tips regarding poisoned candy, jack-o-lantern fires, sex offender registries, and — this year — maintaining physical distancing in circumstances where screaming is likely to occur. Where risks to children from drivers is discussed, these safety tips often discuss these risks via implicit victim blaming of children and parents, such as reminding children to wear reflective clothing, to wear masks with large eyeholes, and to only cross at crosswalks.
Rarely do public safety officials remind the people who put the children at risk — the drivers — of important safety tips they should consider. Every time a child is killed by a driver on Halloween, it’s always because someone chose to get behind the wheel in the first place, despite knowing that hundreds or thousands of children would be on the streets of their community that night. Given these risks, the officers of the Melrose Ped/Bike Committee urge the people of Melrose to keep it local and to avoid driving on Halloween. Nobody ever leaves their home thinking that they are going to be involved in a fatal crash – but it happens tens of thousands of times each year. Halloween is full of distractions, and there are children everywhere. Why risk it? Choose to celebrate Halloween in your neighborhood, or walk/bike to a nearby one!
If you absolutely must drive, please follow the below safety tips to keep you, your family, and your community safe this Saturday:
- The speed limit — limit! — in Melrose is 25mph. If you must drive on Halloween, always drive under the speed limit. If a child jumped unexpectedly into the road, would you be able to stop in time? If you’re not sure, you’re driving too fast. Slow down.
- Every year, cars get bigger. There are various reasons for this, from appealing to American sensibilities to trying to game federal standards for fuel efficiency. If you must drive on Halloween, and you are a multiple-vehicle family, drive the smallest possible vehicle. Smaller cars exert less force on impact and generally have better forward line of sight than larger cars.
- Traveling with teenagers or other inexperienced drivers? If you are driving, make sure the most experienced driver is at the wheel. Teen drivers specifically have much higher crash rates than other drivers and should not be behind the wheel on Halloween under any circumstances.
- We’ll say it again, a little differently: don’t let your teenager drive on Halloween. Teen drivers are far more likely to crash than any other age group.
- Put your cellphone in the back seat. Better yet, put it in the trunk. If you are driving with your phone in your hand, you may as well be driving drunk.
- Have a little tiny bit of fun by flipping the script on asking children to wear bright, conspicuous clothing: instead, after following all of the above tips, make your car as bright and conspicuous as possible. Wrap it with orange LED lights. Roll your windows down and play Halloween music. Be as conspicuous and safe as possible!
Thank you for doing your part to keep Melrose safe this Halloween season.