Halloween is one of the deadliest nights of the year for pedestrians, according to a University of Iowa researcher who studies how to make roads, sidewalks and crossings safer. Elizabeth O’Neal, a U-I professor of community and behavioral health, says costumed kids get excited — and distracted — while trick-or-treating and that can be a dangerous combination when it comes to crossing a street.
Parents can drill into a child how they need to look both ways before crossing the street, but they may have to repeatedly reinforce that mantra during trick-or-treat night. O’Neal says kids who are a little older might be in even greater danger.
Parents play a key role in helping to keep their kids safe, and a few cosmetic changes to a costume could make a tremendous difference in their visibility without destroying the spooky illusion.
O’Neal and the U-I team have done extensive research with dozens of Iowa City-area parents and kids in a virtual reality simulator, having them cross a computer-generated road with approaching cars. The findings reinforce the dangers of peer pressure.
One recent U-I study found kids learn to be better and safer at crossing busy streets when they have hand-in-hand help from their parents.
