As families flood the streets Thursday for the annual trick-or-treat tradition on Halloween, authorities and advocates are providing safety reminders.
Halloween is the deadliest night for child pedestrians, with kids 3.5 times more likely to be hit and killed by a car than on any other night of the year, according to Cassandra Herring of Safe Kids Worldwide.
"So, it's really important that we're hyper-vigilant, not only as drivers, but as we're taking our kids out into the community, just to make sure we're extra aware," Herring says. "Kids get excited, they may dart out, and we just want to make sure we're keeping everybody safe."
San Jose police and Poison Control provided some safety tips:
- Watch for trip hazards, especially the bottom of costumes.
- Use flashlights and reflective tape to make your trick-or-treater more visible.
- Use crosswalks and make eye contact with drivers so you know they see you.
- Don’t drink and drive.
- Inspect your child’s candy before they eat it.
- Throw away any candy without wrappers, labeling or that you don’t recognize.
- Avoid homemade treats, unless you know who made them.
- Check for choking hazards.
- Put medicine out of reach because some of it can look like candy to a child.
- When in doubt, call Poison Control at 800-222-1222.
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