Planning on going out this coming holiday? Driving safely on Halloween is essential! With so many people in costumes, especially children, it can be an extremely difficult time to drive anywhere. Here are 6 easy tips on how to stay alert while at the wheel.
1. Drive slow!
Yes, this may seem extremely obvious but you would be surprised how many people forget. If you are in a residential area, treat it as if you are driving in a school zone. This is one of the few times where we recommend driving below the speed limit. If the sun has set be extra careful, kids are not always watching where they are going when candy is on the line. It is your responsibility as a driver to be 100% alert.
2. It’s ok to put your brights more than usual!
Normally this is a big no! While you don’t want to drive around the entire time with your brights on, putting them on in residential areas or around dark corners could potentially save some ones life! All to often, Halloween costumes are dark and scary. They blend in and may not be initially visible to a driver. If you are in a dark area, do not be afraid to put your brights on while driving around.
3. Do not drive aggressively
What every you do, do not speed or try to get around cars. While we suggest to always refrain from driving like an
A-hole, this day is especially important. If you are running late, to bad, you are late. Kids could be around any corner. If a car is stopped or driving slow, its very possibly it because their are children around. Do not try to speed up and get around them.
4. Put the phone away
This is another very obvious thing everyone should be doing while driving safely on Halloween. Unfortunately, people do forget that they need to be extra careful and get distracted by something on their phone. We suggest putting the phone away or having an automated “I am driving” text send until you are safely stopped.
5. Do not drink and drive, not even a little!
Holiday weekends bring out the worst and by the worst we mean drunk drivers. Please don’t be one of these people. Avoid drunk driving on Halloween and get a designated driver, Uber, taxi or Lyft. Make sure your friends do the same. Do not let anyone drink and drive.
6. Be extra cautious at cross walks and intersections
Make sure you come to a complete stop, take a couple seconds and then go when the area is clear. It is also a good idea to keep the radio turned down in areas like this. Make sure you don’t hear anyone coming or going on the streets before driving through an area.
7. Be careful backing up! Rear view mirrors and some back up cameras are too tall to spot small children
Me extremely careful backing up! Go extra slow to make sure you are all the way clear. If you have someone in the car with you, it is not a bad idea to ask them to get and check for you just to make sure.
8. If you are driving in costume make sure you have 100% visibility
Everyone loves a good costume. The more elaborate that better. But, this is not always true when driving. If your costume includes some sort of mask or head piece, wait to put it on until after you have arrived at your destination. Do take a change, even if you think you can drive with it. If it even partial is in your line of vision, take it off while driving.
While all of this may seem like common sense to some about driving safely on Halloween, it unfortunately isn’t to everyone. Pedestrian injuries happen every year and it is our job as the drivers to make sure we are doing everything we can to stop this. Make sure to drive defensively more than every for this holiday and happy Halloween from Comedy Defensive Driving.
