Halloween is Deadliest Day for child pedestrians
Originally published at The Preternatural Post. Please leave any comments there.
As kids take to the streets tonight in search of Halloween treats, neither they nor their parents may realize they are twice as likely to be fatally injured by a car today than on any other day of the year. Cars aren’t the only hazards out tonight, either. Many emergency rooms see heightened activity on Halloween night. Fortunately, many of the Halloween-related injuries seen in emergency rooms are not life threatening. In fact the abrasions, lacerations and broken bones are commonly related to falls.
Deadliest Day
Bert Sperling of Sperling’s BestPlaces analyzed data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) collected between 1990 and 2012 for children under the age of 18. What he discovered was frightening.
On average, 5.5 children die each year as a result of pedestrian accidents on Halloween. That’s more than double the 2.6 fatalities of every other day of the year. Nearly a quarter of those fatalities occurred between 6 and 7 p.m. local time on 31 October. More than 60 percent of fatal Halloween accidents occurred between 5 and 9 p.m. Children between the ages of 12 and 15 were most likely to be involved in a fatal accident followed by those between the ages of 5 and 8. Less than 30 percent of all fatal Halloween accidents occurred in an intersection or when children were using designated crosswalks.
Behind the wheel, young drivers (age 15 to 25) posed the greatest threat to trick-or-treaters accounting for nearly one-third of all fatal accidents involving child pedestrians on Halloween. Drivers between the ages of 36 and 40 and 61 and 65 posed the least risk to child pedestrians. Together these two age groups accounted for only 8 percent (or nine fatalities) during the 21 years studied.
“State Farm wants children to be safe every day of the year whether they are inside or outside of a car,” said Kellie Clapper, assistant vice president of Public Affairs at State Farm. “The analysis of this data highlights the particular need for parents to be especially alert during Halloween.”
The message is apparently getting out. Since 2005 the average number of Halloween child fatalities as fallen to 5.5 annually. To help reduce the number of child pedestrian fatalities further, parents should teach their children to walk, never run on Halloween. Children should also be told to stick to sidewalks and use crosswalks as well as always looking both ways when crossing the street. Traveling in well-lit areas is also safer for children and drivers.
Bumps and Bruises
“The types of injuries we tend to see [in the emergency room] are related to costumes that are not age appropriate,” explains Thomas Abramo M.D., Director of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Monroe Carrell Jr. Children’s hospital at Vanderbilt University. “Parents should anticipate tripping is the child has a costume with a lot of appendages.”
To prevent falls and Halloween falls and trips to the ER, children should always wear well-fitted costume and shoes that are easy to walk in. Masks can also prevent children from seeing where they are going. They can be especially hazardous for younger children who haven’t fully developed depth perception. Face paint and cosmetics can be a safe alternative provided the child is not allergic to them.
Homeowners can do their part by turning on as many outdoor lights as possible to illuminate walkways. Pets should also be secured. Clear the yard and sidewalk of anything children might trip over from branches to garden tools to hoses to decorations.
By taking a few extra minutes you can help insure the Halloween 2012 will be more trick than treat for children everywhere.