Halloween Safety Tips

It's a big weekend in Idaho and across the country.  Saturday night is Halloween and we'll be switching over to Daylight Savings Time.  Our friends at AAA Idaho and the Idaho Transportation Department want to share some helpful tips to keep you and your loved ones safe.

Believe it or not, Halloween is one of the deadliest days of the year says AAA Idaho in a news release.  According to the agency, children are twice as likely to be killed by a car on Halloween night as on any other night of the year.  Daylight Savings means more of us need to look out for pedestrians and bicyclists will be on the road during the dark hours in the late afternoon.

How Dangerous?

According to research by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 96 percent of drivers view drowsy driving as very or extremely dangerous, but 24 percent admitted to driving when they were so tired that they had a hard time keeping their eyes open at least once in the 30 days before the survey.

Sleepy Driving?

Additional AAA research finds that drivers who have slept less than five hours have a crash risk comparable to someone who is driving drunk.  ITD reports that in 2019, drowsy driving was a contributing factor in 1,350 Idaho crashes.  But due to the difficulty of proving drowsy driving after the fact, the actual number could be much higher.

With Halloween and the switch to Daylight Savings Time both taking place this weekend, AAA and the Idaho Transportation Department remind drivers to do their part to prevent a scary situation on the road.

Raising Awareness

AAA Idaho and the Idaho Transportation Department are launching a new safety campaign to reduce the number of drowsy driving injuries and fatalities in the Gem State.  “If you snooze, we all lose” is a reminder to motorists that nodding off behind the wheel puts everyone at risk.  Drivers should get plenty of sleep before they hit the road, or delegate the task to a more-rested driver.