October 28, 2021

‘Be Seen on Halloween’ Safety Tips Will Be Emphasized This Weekend, Including at Several Family Friendly Halloween Events

Montgomery County’s Department of Transportation (MCDOT) wants to ensure that trick or treaters have a safe and fun Halloween, particularly since it will be dark during many of the festivities.

“This statistic should scare you—the National Safety Council tells us that children are more than twice as likely to be hit by a car and killed on Halloween than on any other day of the year,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “It is so important that families take extra precautions to ‘be seen on Halloween.’ We hope that all Montgomery County families have a fun and safe Halloween this year.”

The following tips can help keep trick or treaters safe:
  • Drivers should slow down and be alert! Kids are excited on Halloween and may dart into the street. Reduce your speed and turn on headlights early in the day to spot kids from further away.
  • Drivers and Trick or treaters should put electronic devices down and keep heads up and use caution on our streets and sidewalks.
  • Trick or treaters should only cross the street at corners or crosswalks. Always look left, right, and left again when crossing, and keep looking as you cross. Walk, don’t run, across the street.
  • Trick or treaters should make themselves more easily seen by carrying glow sticks or flashlights, use reflective tape or stickers on costumes and bags, and wear light colors.
  • Review the County’s COVID-19 health guidance as it relates to Halloween.
“With the return to a more traditional Halloween this year, we want to remind residents that drivers need to slow down, avoid distraction and impairment, and use extra caution. Kids need to be visible, aware of traffic, and careful when walking on our streets,” said MCDOT Director Chris Conklin. “It is so important that we all take the necessary care to keep each other safe.”

The MCDOT Safe Routes to School program will be participating at several family friendly events, giving out safety prizes and promoting pedestrian safety. The program will be participating in events at:
For ongoing updates, follow @MCDOTNow on Twitter, visit the department website at montgomerycountymd.gov/mcdot and subscribe to MCDOT’s ‘Go Montgomery!’ newsletter.
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