Child pedestrian deaths double on Halloween night
ST. LOUIS – Halloween can be a potentially dangerous night for child pedestrians. On average, twice as many kids are killed while walking on Halloween compared to other days of the year. Safe Kids USA and FedEx urge parents to prepare children to act safely and drivers to take extra precautions.
“Kids need proper safety instruction before they go out trick-or-treating,” says Cathy Hogan, coordinator for Safe Kids St. Louis at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center. "Many kids will be trick-or-treating while it’s dark, when it is more difficult for drivers to see them. There are several easy and effective behaviors that parents can share with kids to help reduce their risk of injury. For example, children younger than 12 should not cross streets on Halloween without an adult. If older kids are mature enough to go trick-or-treating without adult supervision, parents should make sure they go in a group and stick to a predetermined route with good lighting."
In preparation for Halloween, Safe Kids St. Louis will team up with Walk This Way program sponsor FedEx to provide kids with reflective materials to promote visibility, including zipper tags that can be attached to costumes and trick-or-treat bags, as well as important safety information to children, parents and drivers.
Drivers need to be extra alert as there will be more children on the streets and sidewalks – and those kids may be more focused on gathering candy and the excitement of the holiday than being careful while crossing streets.
"Safe Kids and FedEx urge drivers to slow down on neighborhood roads to make Halloween more enjoyable for everyone, but also to help save lives," added Hogan.
Top safety tips Safe Kids USA recommends for parents:
• Cross the street safely at corners, using traffic signals and crosswalks. Look left, right and left again when crossing and keep looking as you cross. Walk, don’t run, across the street.
• Walk on sidewalks or paths. If there are no sidewalks, walk facing traffic as far to the left as possible. Children should walk on direct routes with the fewest street crossings.
• Slow down and stay alert - watch out for cars that are turning or backing up and never dart out into the street or cross in between parked cars.
• Costumes can be both creative and safe. Decorate costumes and bags with reflective tape or stickers and, if possible, choose light colors. Masks can obstruct a child's vision, so choose non-toxic face paint and make-up whenever possible instead. Have kids carry glow sticks or flashlights in order to see better, as well as be seen by drivers.
Top safety tips Safe Kids USA and FedEx recommend for drivers:
• Slow down in residential neighborhoods. Remember that popular trick-or-treating hours are 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.
• Be especially alert and take extra time to look for kids at intersections, on medians and on curbs. Children are excited on Halloween and may move in unpredictable ways.
• Reduce any distractions inside your car, such as talking on the phone or eating, so you can concentrate on the road and your surroundings.
Pedestrian safety is a main concern on Halloween, but parents and kids should also be careful when dealing with candy.
"While kids never want to wait to dive into their candy, it is best to check sweets for signs of tampering before children are allowed to eat them," says Hogan. “Remind children to only eat treats in original and unopened wrappers."
For more tips on how to help kids become safer pedestrians on Halloween, as well as throughout the year, visit www.safekids.org.
About Safe Kids St. Louis
Safe Kids St. Louis works to prevent unintentional childhood injury, the leading cause of death and disability to children ages 1 to 14. Its members include the Cardinal Glennon Children’s Foundation, SSM St. Mary’s Health Center, SSM DePaul Health Center, SSM St. Clare Health Center, fire and police departments, four other pediatric hospitals, city, county and state health departments, Laclede Gas, MoDOT, Don Brown Chevrolet, Jim Butler Chevrolet, SIDS Resources, St. Louis Urban League, Catholic Charities, and many other community partners. Safe Kids St. Louis is a member of Safe Kids Worldwide, a global network of organizations dedicated to preventing unintentional injury. Safe Kids St. Louis was founded in 1991 and is a program of SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center.
About FedEx Corp.
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services. With annual revenues of $40 billion, the company offers integrated business applications through operating companies competing collectively and managed collaboratively, under the respected FedEx brand. Consistently ranked among the world's most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 290,000 team members to remain "absolutely, positively" focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities. For more information, visit news.fedex.com.
For media inquires only, contact:
Mary Foshage
Communications Specialist
SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center
314-577-5615 (office)
314-294-8124 (pager)
mary_foshage@ssmhc.com