Halloween Can Be Scary Without Being Dangerous

Halloween is considered one of the most fun holidays of the year. The fun has spread from children to adults. The parties, parades, and trick-or-treating excursions are more popular than ever. Although Halloween is not recognized as a national holiday, it is treated as such. Many people, especially in North America, put a substantial amount of time and effort into Halloween preparation with everything from costumes, elaborate home decorating, and of course, party planning. All these efforts however need to be accompanied with common sense behavior for safety purposes. Halloween, unlike other holidays, focuses primarily on the evening hours. When the sun goes down, the partying and Halloweening begins. This concept of evening festivities opens up opportunities for mischief as well as accidents among other things. Safety during the Halloween season should never be taken lightly especially when children and young adults are involved.

For years, stories of tainted candy and treat bags have emerged around the country. The thought of poison Halloween candy or a razor blade hidden inside a Halloween cookie is enough to cause panic during the Halloween season. Stories of deliberate poisoning actually go back as far as the 1960's when trick-or-treating was really starting to catch fire in North America. Realistically however, many of these stories are merely fiction or an exaggeration of facts manipulated until the story sounds really scary. The fact that many Halloween poisonings can be proven wrong does not take away from the fact that we live in an imperfect world and the possibility of a deranged person purposely causing harm to another is very real. In regard to door-to-door trick or treating, candy does need to be checked for obvious signs of tampering. Unwrapped candy and other homemade treats given out by strangers, which are most likely harmless, will probably do better finding their way into the trash rather than in your child's mouth just to be on the safe side. A better safe than sorry attitude can provide some added peace of mind.

Another scary concept of Halloween is simply the idea of children crossing the street after nightfall. Add in a dark, clumsy costume and maybe a cumbersome mask and this can be a recipe for disaster. Unfortunately, Halloween produces more fatal accidents between motor vehicles and young children, a.k.a. Halloweeners, under the age of fifteen than any other night of the year. Most of these accidents occur between 4 pm and 8 pm, obviously the time most trick-or-treating takes place. The overwhelming majority of these auto accidents occur at non-intersection locales, in other words mid-block and even between parked cars. Child trick-or-treaters need to be instructed on crossing at crosswalks and street corners only. Halloween can also be dangerous to adult revelers because of the number of Halloween parties taking place. It is estimated that nearly two-thirds of all Halloween automobile accidents are alcohol related. This is an alarming statistic which unfortunately has risen over the last decade in spite of education and increased law enforcement in regard to driving while intoxicated.

Halloween is a holiday based on folklore, tradition, and fun. It was never meant to be dangerous or deadly. Unsafe situations and Halloween related accidents can be avoided in most cases by some back-to-basics education and enforcement of safe habits. The primary instinct of parents is to protect their children and teaching common sense is a great place to start. Young adults as well as mature adults for that matter, need to remain focused on during the Halloween season while operating their motor vehicle. Automobile accidents change lives and in some cases end them, and with the increased number of pedestrians roaming the streets during this festive season, it is all the more reason to stay sober and attentive while driving. Halloween can be scary if we want it to... be it shouldn't have to be dangerous.

By: Chet Val

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Chet is the webmaster of Costumes Gone Viral, a fun site where visitors can upload Holloween costumes for others to review.