THP Urge Motorists To Beware During Halloween Holiday Weekend

Nashville, TN (2011-10-27) The Tennessee Highway Patrol would like to encourage everyone to take extra precautions this weekend to ensure a safe and happy Halloween. State Troopers will be conducting safety checkpoints, sobriety roadblocks, saturation patrols and other enforcement techniques to look for aggressive or impaired drivers and ultimately save lives.

“Halloween should be a time for good family fun,” said Department of Safety and Homeland Security Commissioner Bill Gibbons. “However, children, their parents and all motorists must remember that safety comes first. We are urging all motorists to act responsibly, designate a sober driver and keep roadways safe for trick-or-treaters across Tennessee.”

Over 1,500 people in the U.S. died in crashes during the Halloween time period from 2000-2009. According to the National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA), in 2009, 48 percent of all highway fatalities across the nation on Halloween night involved a driver or motorcycle rider with a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher.

Last year in Tennessee, one person was killed on Halloween between midnight, October 31, 2010, through 6 a.m., November 1, 2010. That compares to two people killed in two crashes on Halloween during the same time period in 2009. Both of the fatal crashes in 2009 involved alcohol.

“Unfortunately, the Halloween holiday weekend is a dangerous one due to impaired drivers,” said THP Colonel Tracy Trott. “We all have a responsibility to keep our children safe from those who blatantly disobey the rules of the road. Our State Troopers will be working around the state to make sure that violators are caught and roadways are safe this Halloween.”

Halloween is the most dangerous day of the year for pedestrian injuries and deaths among young children. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found that the number of deaths among young pedestrians (ages 5-14) is four times higher on Halloween evening than any other evening of the year. Thirty-eight percent of all young (under age 16) pedestrian fatalities occurred between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., and alcohol involvement – either for the driver or pedestrian – was reported in 48 percent of traffic crashes that resulted in pedestrian fatalities.

Halloween safety tips for parents, children and motorists are listed below. THP sobriety and driver license checkpoints also accompany this release.