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Halloween night means many people will be out trick-or-treating. The Springfield Police Department has made a list of tips kids, parents and drivers should remember before going out tonight. KSMU’s Rebekah Clark reports.
To have both a fun and safe Halloween holiday, the SPD wants locals to remember a few things.
First, tips for kids:
- Children should always cross the street only at corners or marked crosswalks.
- Never cross the street between parked cars.
- If there is no sidewalk, walk facing traffic.
- Keep an eye out for cars that are backing up or turning.
- Use reflector strips on costumes as well as carry flashlights.
And SPD officer Matt Brown stresses that last point—the flashlight.
“A lot of parents don’t necessarily pay attention to even protective markers on the kids, or any type of striping that shows up, but they do pay attention to the light that wags back and forth if the child’s carrying it. So if you don’t do anything else for your children, give them a flashlight to hold on to.”
Next, here are some pointers adults should remember:
- Have your children trick-or-treat at the homes of family and friends.
- Take a close look at all treats at home in a well lit place before your kids eat them.
- Remind kids not to enter houses of strangers.
- Set a time limit for children to trick-or-treat
- Map a safe route.
“Parents, when you are putting together your costume, or whatever it is for your child, if you have some type of reflective tape, or anything that you can put on the outside. I know the kids won’t like it, they may say it’s not part of their costume, and they might complain a little bit, but certainly that’s not worth a trip to the hospital.”
Lastly, drivers out on the road tonight should:
- Drive with extra caution to keep an eye out for children who forget safety rules.
- Slow down in residential neighborhoods
- Pay attention when turning or backing out of driveways and entering or exiting alleys.
- Watch for kids at crossings, medians and in the streets.
- Allow children to get out of the car only at curbside.
“Probably one of the most important things you can do is to slow down as you are driving in between two cars. The kids, even though they have flashlights, they may be swinging them, you won’t be able to see that if they are coming out from in between two vehicles. That’s where we see a lot of the accidents occur as the children dart out from between two cars trying to get to the other side of the road.”
Tonight, the SPD will be handing out candy to trick-or-treaters from the headquarters located at 321 E. Chestnut Expressway.
For KSMU News, I’m Rebekah Clark.