Trick or treating is right around the corner, and children will be crawling over every nook and cranny in town to score that next candy bar. While they’re looking hard for treats, they aren’t looking quite so closely for motorists, and that’s the scariest thing of all.
Children are three times more likely to be struck and killed by a car on the holiday than any other day of the year, according to the latest federal highway safety data. A Washington Post report found that roads have become more dangerous for pedestrians in general in the past decade. In fact, more pedestrians and cyclists were fatally struck by cars in 2018 than any other year since 1990, federal highway authorities recently warned. Adjusting for total vehicle miles traveled, the rate of pedestrian fatalities has increased by 33 percent since 2009. Pedestrians now account for 17 percent of all traffic deaths.
For decades, roadways have been designed with driver safety in mind, rather than walkers or cyclists. Those safety deficiencies are most obvious on Halloween, a day when millions of additional pedestrians take to the streets during the twilight hours, historically the most dangerous time of day for pedestrians. The majority of those trick-or-treaters are children, the smallest of whom can be harder for drivers to spot from the windows of SUVs.
So, parents and drivers – please be careful during trick-or-treating! And if you or someone you know has been injured by a motor vehicle and needs a hand, call us at 502-633-6002 for the most trusted legal advice around. The first consultation is free.
Happy Halloween!