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October is here, and all anyone can think about is the holiday of Halloween at the end of the month. Kids love getting dressed in fun costumes and trick-or-treating for bags full of candy. Meanwhile, adults enjoy dressing up as well, but they have parties to get to instead of wandering door to door hunting for candy.
Trick-or-Treating Safety Tips
When it comes to trick-or-treating, a parent’s main priority should be keeping their child safe. This can be a bit tricky as the sun sets and things get dark. In order to ensure that everyone stays safe this Halloween, here are some safety tips to keep in mind while out trick-or-treating:
- Always make eye contact with drivers before crossing the street in front of them.
- Always walk in well-lit areas.
- Don’t eat any candy until home and a parent has inspected it for any tampering.
- Each child should be carrying a flashlight or glow stick.
- Face paint is better than wearing masks since masks can obstruct a child’s vision.
- Make sure costumes are the appropriate size so they are not loose or baggy on the child, creating a tripping hazard.
- Never cross the street between parked cars. Drivers are less likely to notice pedestrians between cars.
- Never enter a stranger’s home or car.
- Only cross streets at corners with traffic signals and/or crosswalks. Always check left and right before crossing.
- Only walk on sidewalks or paths. If there is no sidewalk, walk on the left side of the street facing oncoming traffic.
- Put electronic devices down when walking, and especially when crossing the street.
- Put reflective tape and stickers on bags or costumes when possible to increase visibility.
Following these safety tips should help a parent keep their children safe this Halloween.
Tampering with Halloween Candy Is a Crime
Tampering with food products in a way that can harm someone is a crime here in California. Under California Penal Code (PC) 347, it is illegal for a person to tamper or poison food, medicine, and public water supplies.
This crime is a felony offense, and can earn a person a prison stay of one of the following:
- 2 years.
- 4 years.
- 5 years.
If someone is killed suffers great bodily harm from the act, an additional 3 years in prison is added to the sentence.
Basically, no one should be tampering with Halloween candy.
Halloween Safety Tips for Adults
Not every adult has children who are trick-or-treating that they need to worry about. These adults tend to have parties to go to. While they may not be trick-or-treating themselves, they still need to be aware of trick-or-treaters while driving around.
A few tips for adults this Halloween would be:
- Be careful while exiting driveways and alleyways.
- Be extra wary of kids crossing at intersections.
- Drive slower in residential neighborhoods.
- Popular times for trick-or-treating fall between 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm, so be very cautious during those times.
- Turn headlights on earlier in the evening to increase visibility.
- Watch for kids while driving, especially kids in dark clothing.
Keep Halloween Safe and Fun
Halloween is supposed to be a fun holiday for children and adults alike. No one wants to ruin the evening with an accident of some kind. That is why everyone, including adults not out trick-or-treating, need to be more cautious this evening. By being more aware, they can avoid harming a trick-or-treater who was just looking to get an excellent score of candy to take home.