The True Horror of Trick or Treating

The Columbus Dispatch is reporting about a five-year study recently completed by the Ohio Department of Transportation. The study has discovered that pedestrian-involved car accidents increase during the last week of October.

This study indicates that the reasons for the increase in accidents is due to decreased visibility during the evening hours and trick-or-treaters traveling by foot. I'll save my thoughts on the cost-effectiveness of gathering this data over a five-year period. I would like to address some parents with a few tips to prevent trick-or-treating tragedies.

I've lived in a rural community most of my life and my own children are long grown and gone. Over the last several years, I've seen the behavior that is causing the increase in pedestrian-involved accidents and it can't be completely blamed on the drivers. I now live in the country where no trick-or-treaters would ever venture and I do not drive to town on trick or treat night.

A few years ago, I was working out of town the day Beggar's Night was scheduled. I was trying my best to hurry through the day so I could get home before the witching hour. Unfortunately, time was not on my side that day and I didn't arrive back to my town until midway through the annual trick-or-treat fest.

From the edge of town to my home was a distance of about one mile, no stop signs, one traffic light, no crosswalks other than the traffic light and no turns. The light was only a half-block from my house and I knew if I could make it there, I should be home free.

As I entered the village and laughed at the 25 mile-per-hour speed zone, I slowed to a crawl. It was almost dark and I knew the little beggars were out and about. I saw small children walking alone in the road (a stretch with no sidewalks or street lights) with dark costumes and no lights or reflective tape to be seen. The absence of those items was almost as jarring as the apparent absence of an adult escorting their children.

Three blocks to go on my journey and I could now breathe a small sigh of relief at the presence of sidewalks to keep the children safe. I continued at my snail's pace, barely registering anything on my speedometer. Then, the first child stepped from behind a parked car directly in front of me.

I might not have seen the child had I not first seen the adult that was guiding the trick-or-treater into the path of an oncoming car.

From that point to the stoplight, no less than 4 more groups of children who were (fortunately?) being led by an adult walked into the street. As I approached the stoplight, there were no cars in front of me and the light turned green.

As the traffic light signaled crossing vehicles to stop, it must have also indicated to pedestrians (i.e. trick or treaters led by adults) that it was the perfect time to cross against the light. I actually had to sit through the light until it changed due to all of the parents teaching their children the "rules of pedestrian safety".

I can remember being a child and learning how to safely cross the street. My parents taught me to look both ways and that the red light wasn't just for cars - it was also for me.

To those parents who believe the only thing that matters on trick-or-treat night is gathering the biggest bag of candy I would ask this: have you ever attended the funeral of a child? Are you ready to attend your own child's funeral?

Teaching safety doesn't take a day off. Not every driver is going to be driving as slow as I was.