Full Notification

LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT

Valley Traffic Division

Halloween 2014

Halloween Safety Tips

This Halloween evening, children will be enjoying new experiences that are fun, but distracting.  They will be wearing unique costumes, made of unfamiliar material, crossing dark streets, and walking to the front door of a stranger’s home to ask for candy.  It is an important night for parents to be extra vigilant, because the reality is; twice as many children are hit by a car while walking on Halloween than at any other day of the year. 

Traffic collisions are potentially one of the most dangerous threats during Halloween. While the number of children killed in traffic collisions on Halloween are fortunately small, traffic is a danger to children every day of the year.

Last year’s Halloween, in the City of Los Angeles, there were 61 traffic collisions between the hours of 5:00 p.m. and midnight.  Eighteen of those collisions occurred in the San Fernando Valley portion of the City of Los Angeles.

This year we ask everyone to focus on safety.  We want everyone to have fun and safe Halloween following these recommendations:

PARENTS: There is no real trick to making Halloween a real treat for kids.

• Choose comfortable costumes of bright or reflective colors.  
• Use non toxic make up in place of a mask that limits visibility.
•  Always escort your children and carry a flashlight.
•  Be familiar with the area where they will be trick-or-treating.
•  Set a specific time for your children to be out.
•  Always know who is trick-or-treating with them.
•   Instruct your children to never enter any homes.
•   Walk on the sidewalk and not on the street.
•   Inspect all candy before allowing children to eat them. 
•   Throw away candy that is improperly sealed or spoiled.

Halloween tips for children:

·Don’t carry toy guns or swords that may be confused with real weapons.

·Do not trick-or-treat by yourself. Do not take short cuts, especially through alleys.

·Obey all traffic signals and look in all directions when crossing the street.

·Don’t run, but walk to your destination.

·Don’t enter a stranger’s home or vehicle.

·Wait until the candy is inspected by an adult prior to its consumption.

Halloween message for motorists:

Drivers, let trick-or-treaters do the scaring with their costumes, not with your driving.

· Please slow down!

· Look for children walking or running on the street.

· Be cautious, especially when entering or exiting driveways.

· Do not use a cell phone while driving.  It is unsafe and illegal.

Please keep your pets stress free by securing them.  Strangers with costumes will repeatedly ring your doorbell.  Keep your pets in a safe part of your home for their safety and that of the trick-or-treaters.  That bowl of candy is for trick-or-treaters, not your pets. Candy, especially dark chocolate, can be deadly for dogs and cats.

No costume is clever enough to hide drunk drivers from a police officer.  No matter who you are, impaired driving has scary consequences.  Impaired drivers who fail to plan ahead turn the roads into a nightmare.   Please, enjoy your Halloween festivities, and don’t drink and drive.  Remember, buzzed driving is drunk driving!

The Los Angeles Police Department will have every available officer on patrol during Halloween to ensure the safety of all trick-or-treaters.  If there is an emergency, please call 911.  For additional information, please go to www.LAPDonline.org search “Halloween.”