‘Be Seen On Halloween’ Safety Tips For Montgomery County Kids

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — "Be Seen on Halloween" safety tips will be emphasized this weekend at family-friendly Halloween events in Montgomery County.

Montgomery County’s Department of Transportation wants to ensure that trick-or-treaters have a safe and fun Halloween, particularly since it will be dark during many of the festivities.

“This statistic should scare you: The National Safety Council tells us that children are more than twice as likely to be hit by a car and killed on Halloween than on any other day of the year,” said County Executive Marc Elrich in a news release. “It is so important that families take extra precautions to ‘be seen on Halloween.’ We hope that all Montgomery County families have a fun and safe Halloween this year.”

These tips can help keep trick-or-treaters safe:

• Drivers should slow down and be alert. Kids are excited on Halloween and may dart into the street. Reduce speed and turn on headlights early in the day to spot kids from further away.
• Drivers and trick-or-treaters should put electronic devices down and keep heads up and use caution on our streets and sidewalks.
• Trick-or-treaters should only cross the street at corners or crosswalks. Always look left, right and left again when crossing, and keep looking as you cross. Walk, do not run, across the street.
• Parents and trick-or-treaters can make themselves more easily seen by carrying glow sticks or flashlights, using reflective tape or stickers on costumes and bags and wearing light colors.

“Drivers should be very cautious, slow down and avoid distraction and impairment knowing that kids will be out trick-or-treating,” said MCDOT Director Chris Conklin. “If people are careful on our roads, we can keep each other safe and reduce the risk of a Halloween tragedy.”

The MCDOT Safe Routes to School program will participate at several family friendly events, giving out safety prizes and promoting pedestrian safety, including:

• Thursday, Oct. 27: Sequoyah Elementary School
• Friday, Oct. 28: Clopper Mill Elementary School
• Saturday, Oct. 29: Silver Spring Zombie Walk
• Sunday, Oct. 30: HalloWheaton at Marian Fryer Town Plaza

For information on MCDOT programs and services, visit montgomerycountymd.gov/mcdot, follow @MCDOTNow on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram and subscribe to MCDOT's "Go Montgomery!" newsletter.