With the Halloween season reaching its peak of festivities this weekend through Halloween Night next Thursday, we urge all of our readers to celebrate the season in a safe and responsible manner.
Halloween has become big business in recent decades (Americans will spend $11.6 billion celebrating the holiday this year, up from $3.3 billion in 2005) not only for children, but for adults as well. The holiday has come a long way since we carried those little cardboard UNICEF donation boxes for starving children while trick-or-treating in our neighborhood, which we then would turn in the next day to the sisters at our parochial school. Halloween today has become as much a party season for adults as for kids.
There are two things that are absolute musts for every adult who will be partaking in the festivities. First and foremost, no one should be driving under the influence. Arrests for drunk driving typically spike during the Halloween season. If you plan on drinking, either go with a designated driver or use an Uber or Lyft. Moreover, those who are hosting Hallloween parties should make sure that their guests are okay to drive — friends don’t let friends drive drunk.
Second, as for Halloween Night itself, every person operating an automobile should take care to drive with extreme caution and care and to be on the look-out for little trick-or-treaters. Every motorist should be sure to drive slowly, well below the speed limit.
We also would add that parents of teenagers have a big responsibility to ensure that their children — and yes, teens are children — are home early and are not drinking. Parents should set an early curfew for their children (after all, Halloween is a school night this year) to make sure their teens stay out of trouble.
All of us need to do our part to make sure that neither ourselves nor our loved ones are added to the grim statistics of the Halloween season.