With more road traffic accidents taking place between 5 pm – 7 pm on October 31st than on any other day of the year, parents and motorists should be extra careful and take the necessary steps to keep trick-or-treaters safe this spooky season.
To help make sure all road users and pedestrians are safe this Halloween, Tim Rodie, Motorpoint’s resident driving expert, has shared three pieces of advice everyone should know:
Avoid driving in your Halloween costume or risk a £5,000 fine
Whether you’re heading to a Halloween party or driving over so your children can trick-or-treat with friends, driving in your Halloween costume could land you with a £5,000 fine and points on your licence.
As Tim explains: “Lots of common Halloween costumes aren’t suitable for driving, particularly if they include capes, masks or unusual footwear. If you’re caught driving in a costume that limits your ability to drive safely, it can be classed as careless or dangerous driving, which comes with weighty penalties.
“If you need to be somewhere in costume this Halloween, I’d suggest travelling in your normal clothes and putting on your outfit once you arrive at your destination.”
Slow down this spooky season
With it getting dark much earlier now we’re deep into Autumn, motorists should slow down to account for more challenging driving conditions.
Sharing why this is particularly important on Halloween, when there’ll be more pedestrians around, Tim said: “With children out trick-or-treating on Halloween, motorists should be mindful of the increased likelihood of accidents and risk of little ones appearing from behind parked cars.
“If driving through residential areas, the easiest thing to do is to slow down and just be mindful that there’ll be more excitable children around than usual who could unknowingly put themselves in danger by walking in the road or forgetting to look both ways before crossing the road.”
Be a responsible pedestrian this Halloween
If you’re out and about this Halloween, there are a few things you can do to ensure you’re being a responsible pedestrian.
As Tim explains: “With research showing that Halloween is the most dangerous night of the year for pedestrians and motorists alike, you should be extra vigilant. It goes without saying, but be sure to take your time when crossing the road and use Halloween as an opportunity to chat with your kids about road safety and what they should be doing to keep themselves safe.
“With many Halloween costumes made of dark fabric, it’s a good idea to add some reflective material somewhere on the costume to ensure that motorists have the best possible chance of clearly seeing you when crossing the road.
“If you’ll be out trick-or-treating with a torch or any other light-up accessories, make sure they aren’t pointed at oncoming traffic, as it could seriously impact a motorist’s ability to see what is in front of them – increasing the likelihood of accidents.”
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