Tips for Safe Driving on Halloween Night
As fun and exciting as it is, Halloween presents a great danger to both drivers and pedestrians. It involves young children walking through the dark, often wearing dark clothing, and frequently crossing the street for trick or treating.
While it’s essential to teach children street safety and costume safety, it’s equally important for drivers to understand the risks of Halloween and take steps to reduce the risk of a crash.
Slow Down!
Always drive slow on Halloween, especially in residential areas. Ideally, you should coast through neighborhoods, scanning for pedestrians and any trick or treaters who might step into the street. The slower you’re going and the more alert you are, the more prepared you’ll be if a child is in danger.
Low Visibility
Even with headlights, visibility is a huge issue, especially on Halloween night. Most car headlights illuminate 160ft in front of the vehicle. Anything beyond that range is practically obscured. If a trick or treater outside your visibility range were to step into the street, you’d be unable to see them until you were too close, especially if they were dressed in dark colors.
Always be aware of your maximum range of visibility and keep a close eye on the sides of the road where your headlights might not illuminate. The more aware you are of where trick or treaters might be, the better your chances of preventing a crash.
Don’t Look Into the Light
Finally, avoid looking at screens and oncoming headlights whenever you can. As you drive in the dark, your eyes adjust to the low light, allowing you to see better. However, the bright light from a phone notification or an approaching car can potentially cause your eyes to contract, making it harder to see in the dark for upwards of 20 minutes.
The best thing you can do to prevent this readjustment is put your phone away and avoid looking into bright light sources, such as approaching headlights or illuminated displays. This, in turn, will increase your chances of identifying pedestrians and preventing a crash.
To schedule an appointment at Dunk Law Firm, please don’t hesitate to call (800) 674-9339 or send us an email.
