Here’s a real scare: more children die from being struck by cars on Halloween than any other of the year, according to a new study released today by the auto insurer State Farm. Crowds of trick-or-treaters traveling the streets contribute to the increased risk, experts said.
- From 1990 to 2010, 115 pedestrians under the age of 18 were killed by motor vehicles on Oct. 31, an average of 5.5 fatalities a year during that period. There are an average of 2.6 child pedestrian deaths other days of the year, the report found.
- Nearly one quarter of all fatal hits occurred between 6 and 7 p.m., with drivers under the age of 25 involved in nearly one-third of those accidents.
- More than 70 percent of the collisions did not happen in an intersection or crosswalk.
- Thirty two percent of the children killed were between ages 12 to 15, and 23 percent were between ages 5 to 8.
- Fatalities have been on the decline since 2005.
State Farm commissioned the research group, Sperling’s BestPlaces, to review data from the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, which tracks fatal traffic crashes nationwide.
Tell us: what do you do to keep your children safe while they trick-or-treat? Talk about it below.
(Journal News file photo)
1 Comment
Of course the odds of a child getting hit by a car at Halloween are much less than a child getting hit by a car any day in New Square