Be vigilant for a safe Halloween

But the real world dictates that parents and children observe some simple precautions when hitting the neighborhood streets on Halloween.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, children are four times more likely to be involved in fatal pedestrian accidents on Halloween than any other time.

As you head out trick-or-treating on Wednesday night with your little princesses and superheroes in tow, local experts want to remind you of some of the dangers kids face on Halloween.

“Crossing streets tends to provide the most dangerous situation because small children sometime dart out from between cars and motorists don't see them,” said Dave Koeneke, executive director of Oklahoma Safety Council.

Koeneke works with Drive Aware Oklahoma, an advocacy group of organizations that works to increase citizen awareness about distracted driving, as well as to motivate citizens to add their voices to the call for policy change in this area. The group has designated the week before Halloween as “Drive Aware Oklahoma Week.”

“Stop Texts, Stop Wrecks,” is a slogan adopted by the group.

On Halloween, both trick-or-treaters and motorists need to be extra vigilant, Koeneke said.

The Norman Police Department says there are several reasons kids are more likely to be hurt on Halloween than other times.