MoDOT Provides Halloween Safety Tips

From downtown costume parties to back road bonfires, many celebrations will likely include alcohol. Make your plans for this year’s Halloween fun, but keep in mind that one of the best choices you can make is to drive sober or designate a sober driver to get you home safely.

With an increased number of impaired drivers on the road and an increase in pedestrian traffic as children treat-or-treat, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration classifies Halloween as a statistically dangerous night for impaired driving. That danger can be prevented if drivers just plan ahead.

“Every year there are still some people who think they can drive after drinking,” says Dr. Leanna Depue, executive chair of the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety. “In 2013 there were nine fatal crashes and 34 serious injury crashes during the Halloween holiday weekend.”

The Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety recommends these simple tips for a safe Halloween:

• Before the Halloween festivities begin, plan a way to safely get home at the end of the night.
• Always designate a sober driver.
• If you’ve been drinking, take a taxi, call a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation.
• Walking impaired can be just as dangerous as drunk driving. Designate a sober friend to walk you home.
• If you see a drunk driver on the road, contact local law enforcement.
• If you know someone who is about to drive or ride impaired, take their keys and help them make safe travel arrangements to where they are going.

For more information on highway safety, go to saveMOlives.com.

(Courtesy of MoDOT)