The Hawai‘i County Police Department is offering Halloween weekend safety tips.  Below are suggested preventative measures the public can take over the upcoming holiday weekend:

For tick-or-treaters:

• One of the most important safety tips for Halloween trick-or-treating is having adult supervision of children at all times, especially when there is vehicle traffic. Not having an adult looking out or monitoring your children may also be a violation of the law.
• Another safety tip for Halloween is making sure that your child’s costume is safe. Costumes should fit right to prevent tripping and heat exhaustion, should allow for clear and unobstructed vision, and be highly visible.
• Parents, along with children, should have flashlights readily available to illuminate walking surfaces at night, as well as to provide a warning to motorist of your location from a greater distance. Having glow type sticks attached to your child’s costume is another way to increase their visibility at night.
• Parents and trick-or-treaters should stick to trick-or-treating in neighborhoods that they are familiar with and stay away from homes with poor lighting to prevent falls and injury. Unfamiliar homes can also be dangerous as there might be dogs on the property which may bite unsuspecting children.
• Once trick-or-treating is done, parents should examine the candy which their child has received to make sure it was not tampered with and is safe to eat. Parents should also stress to their kids to not eat any candy that has not been checked by them while they are trick-or-treating.

For drivers traveling on Hawai‘i Island roads:

• If you or a friend drink alcohol or consume an intoxicating substance, don’t drive. Have a sober driver or call for a ride.
• Avoid using handheld electronic devices. Using an electronic device while operating a vehicle is a crime and very unsafe.
• If you see a drunk driver or impaired pedestrian on the road, contact Police Dispatch at (808) 935-3311. It’s best if you provide a license plate description of the vehicle and direction of travel on the road.
• Be on alert for all road users, including pedestrians, at night. Children may come from between vehicles or other unsafe locations.
• Slow down in areas where pedestrians are likely to be or where sight distances are limited. Keep your windshield clean.

For pedestrians walking on Hawaiʻi Island streets:

• Walk on a sidewalk if one is available. If there is no sidewalk, walk facing traffic, as far to the side as safely possible so you can move quickly out of the road if you feel threatened by traffic. Drivers do not expect to see pedestrians in the roadway or to come out from between parked cars or behind shrubbery. Expect that drivers will not see you and wait for them to pass.
• Follow the rules of the road at driveways and intersections. Cross with a traffic signal if there is one, and even if you have the right of way, make sure traffic has stopped or passed before you step into the street. This will be easier to do if electronic devices do not distract you from picking up visual and auditory information about traffic.
• Before the Halloween festivities begin, plan a way to get home safely at the end of the night. Alcohol affects judgment, balance, and reaction time. Create a “buddy system” to get each other home safely. Walking impaired can be just as dangerous as drunk driving.

 

AP Photo