Halloween is a fun time for families all around Orange County. There are two popular activities to participate in on Halloween night. Adults will be partying with their friends, and kids will be trick or treating. That means plenty of pedestrians and a need for Halloween safe driving tips. We all need to implement Halloween safe driving tips to ensure we have a fun night for everyone who is celebrating.

Halloween Safe Driving Tips | No Distractions

Distracted driving is obvious since we shouldn’t be doing it at all. However, some people like to think they are better at distracted driving than others. The fact is, looking at our devices means our eyes are not on the road. It only takes a second to send a text, but it takes less than a second for someone to end up in the path of your vehicle.

Looking away for even a second could mean you hit something or, worse, someone because it takes another second to look back at the road ahead. There will be a lot of pedestrians out on Halloween, many of which are unpredictable kids. It’s better to wait to send that text on Halloween rather than in jail. 

Headlights On

One of the most straightforward Halloween safe driving tips is to keep your headlights on, even if the sun isn’t entirely down. Most newer vehicles have an “auto” feature that turns on headlights for us when it gets dark enough. But kids may be out and about even before our car’s sensors decide it’s dark enough for lights. Turn on those headlights when you see pedestrians trick or treating, even if the sun is still out.

This will make your vehicle more noticeable to pedestrians. They will be less likely to dart in front of your car.

Never Assume

Your headlights are on, the sun is still going down, and kids are out trick or treating. Still, it would help if you never assumed that you could be seen. Kids aren’t very great at multitasking yet and often have a one-track mind. The only thing they are thinking about on Halloween night is candy.

They know that they get that candy by knocking on doors, which means the last thing they are worried about is crossing the street to the next door. Refrain from assuming that pedestrians will give you the right of way because you’ve done all the right things. 

Speed Limits

We all learned what the speed limits are in residential areas. The speed limit in residential areas in California is 25 MPH. However, we may want to go slower in pedestrian-heavy areas. You must use your best judgment on this one, as speed limits exist for a reason. But there is nothing wrong with going a bit slower when you see crowds of kids running down the sidewalks around you.

Going slower means leaving earlier if you have a set time; you need to be somewhere. Factor this into your travel plans so that you can be appropriately prepared.

Reversing

Many people will be driving from location to location, parking, getting out, and trick or treating. One of the more obscure but just as important Halloween safe driving tips is not to reverse. Find a parking space that will allow you to pull forward to leave. You should have a fellow adult stand at the car’s rear if you have no choice but to reverse.

A child may dart behind your vehicle while you’re reversing, and having someone keeping an eye back there will help keep everyone safe.

Seatbelts

You may have walked up and down this block already, and it’s time to move to the next one. Always ensure seatbelts are used, no matter how far you drive. Seatbelts should be used even if you go from one block to the next. Tickets are one thing, but accidents take literal milliseconds to happen. This means that even driving one minute away gives you 6,000 opportunities to get in an accident. 

Be a Hero

Spiderman once said, “Mr.Stark…I don’t feel so good.” But he also said, “When you can do the things that I can, but you don’t, and then the bad things happen, they happen because of you.” What does that have to do with you? Well, it’s not as serious as blaming yourself.

However, you should consider those words if you see an intoxicated driver on the road. You have the power to pick up the phone and report it to the police, and you should. Ensure you do so safely and don’t give chase or anything like that. But if you can safely make that call and report them, you could save lives.