If you were to take a poll of children under the age of 13, Halloween would likely rank in the top 2 on the holiday ranking. It’s the Superbowl for the kids! Can you blame them? Getting to dress up in costume while knocking door to door and getting free candy? What could be better?
Many have fond memories of Halloween.
But those memories should not be dampened by shrinkflation of candy or on account of personal injury. The notion of shrinkflation of Halloween candy is a real thing. Those mini candy bars, or bags of chips; cost more money but they are smaller! That’s shrinkflation. Some say that it’s good for the kids given that they will consume less; thinking that they are consuming an entire package of something. But something feels rather devious about cheating kids out of Halloween candy. Perhaps it’s devious because parents are paying more, but getting less in return for their hard earned after tax dollars. In any event, keep an eye of of shrinkflation of Halloween candy and treats this season.
There is no greater recipe for disaster than Halloween when it comes to personal injury law. Thousands of kids in your City/Town will be taking to the poorly lit streets, rushing from house to house; zig zagging across the streets with little regard for traffic and the sole focus of gathering as much candy as they can in the shortest time possible. The trick or treaters are often small and not wearing any reflective clothing making them hard to see if they are darting between cars or crossing the street. Every Halloween Goldfinger Injury Lawyers has something to say about Halloween for good reason. Bad things can, and often do happen. Here are a few safety tips from some personal injury lawyers who have seen a lot:
Lights Lights Baby!
It will be dark in Ontario on Halloween night. Very dark. The better lit the street, the better lit the trick or treater, the more visible which everyone participating in Halloween is; the greater the chance it will be a safe and fun holiday. Personal injury lawyers and their counter parts which defend insurance companies want to know how visibility was on the night of the accident, and want to know if the parties were visible (well lit). If you are in a black out costume, or if you don’t have a flash light or reflectors and it’s dark outside, well then you’re hard to see. And if you’re hard to see, the greater the chance there will be an accident. That’s not to suggest simply carrying a flashlight is a guarantee that you won’t be involved in an accident. But, having a flashlight and being visible is a step in the right direction towards accident prevention rather than not putting yourself in a safer position.
There’s no Rush!
It’s important to remind the trick or treaters that there is no rush on Halloween night. Slow and steady will win this “race” so to say. The candy isn’t going anywhere. These are all hard concepts for kids to grasp; especially when there is candy at stake. But, it’s important to drive this concept home BEFORE you go outside and trick or treat; and reinforce this idea along your route. You cannot trick or treat from a hospital bed if something bad should happen. Less pace = more candy = lots of smiling faces.
Hard Commute Home October 31st
If you are driving home from work on October 31st, be prepared for a longer commute. Expect traffic because there will be some early trick or treaters out on the roads. If you are a person who will be working late that evening, please don’t be in a rush to get home from work by driving quickly. The same rule above for the trick or treaters that “There’s no Rush” also applies to motorists. The faster you drive, particularly on residential roads, the less time you’ll have to react. Nobody wants to hit a trick or treater with their car. That would be a terrible accident. So just slow down, take your time, and be mindful that roads which normally wouldn’t be busy, will be busy with a lot of pedestrians.
Watch your Step!
Kids will be in a hurry. No matter how much parents will urge them to slow down; the reality is that kids will speed up. When they do, they won’t be paying attention to their surroundings. It’s important for them to be mindful of where they are stepping, and what’s going on around them. It’s hard for parents to monitor each of their kids steps. But, it’s not unrealistic for parents to let their kids know of the importance of being present, and making good decisions in terms of where kids walk, and the routes they take. Some kids will opt for the safe route which might take a bit longer. Other kids will opt for the route involving hopping a few fences, jumping down on uneven terrain, etc. just to get at a few extra houses for scooping up some candy. It’s hard to stop a determined trick or treater from taking the road less travelled. But, we can do our best to let them know to slow down, and to be mindful of their surroundings.
Start Early, End Early
There’s no official start time, or end time to Trick Or Treating. But, the more daylight there is, the greater the visibility and the less chance of an accident. There’s no shame in starting the festivities a bit earlier, getting back home with plenty of time before bed to sort the candy, and ending the evening a bit earlier as well. Having the peace of mind that it was a fun night without incident is wonderful. You are only increasing those chances when visibility is greater.
We hope these Halloween tips are well received. From all of the personal injury lawyers here at Goldfinger Injury Lawyers, we wish you and your family a wonderful and safe Halloween.