To help everyone bring home treats — not tragedies — Progressive offers these 10 tips for a safe Halloween:
- Know when your neighborhood is holding Halloween activities. The actual holiday falls on a Wednesday this year, so some neighborhoods may opt to conduct trick-or-treating on the previous Friday, Saturday or Sunday evenings.
- Don't use a cellular telephone while driving through neighborhoods. A single distraction could lead to a tragedy. A recent countrywide survey by progressive.com shows that 46 percent of respondents report having swerved into another lane and 41 percent say they sped up while driving alone and talking on their cell phone.
- Stay well below the posted speed limit during trick-or-treating hours.
- Do not pass other vehicles that have stopped in the roadway. Other vehicles could be dropping off children.
- Be intersection alert. Children could be crossing the street.
- Never assume a pedestrian approaching the roadway will yield to your vehicle. Children may not see your vehicle approaching or might not be familiar with crossing roadways.
- Make sure other drivers can see you. If you're driving a group of children, but staying in the running vehicle at curbside, be sure to put on your four-way flashers to alert other motorists.
- Make sure other drivers can see the children. Give the children flashlights and glow sticks or use reflective tape on their costumes. These items will help the children make their way in the dark and ensure that drivers see them.
- Be sure your children know how to cross a street. Instruct children to look both ways before crossing the street and to cross only at corners or crosswalks.
- And, lastly, take advantage of your community's Halloween safety programs. Most communities offer Halloween activities for younger children that keep them out of harm's way. Your community may also offer a service that inspects candy to ensure that it is safe for children to eat.