Hogtown Halloween 2007: 10 Ways to Stay Safe
Well, we’re basically at the point in time where The Toronto Traveler’s coverage of Halloween comes to a close (seeing as how tomorrow’s the big day), so I thought I’d end off with a couple of general posts about the holiday. Toronto’s such a big place that it’s impossible to cover all of the Halloween events in one recently launched blog series, but so many of them will be blatantly visible tomorrow night that you shouldn’t find it difficult to find a party if you want one.
With that having been said, here are 10 things that you can do to make sure you stay safe on Halloween night.
1) Stay in a group – While Toronto generally has very good per capita crime rates, no city its size is completely free of crime. Halloween is a good opportunity for thieves and robbers to get some loot because of the large number of people outside at night, so make sure that you stay in a group if you plan to be out late in areas that don’t have a lot of people.
2) Bring a flashlight – This one’s just really common sense and the one that my parents drilled into me for the five years or so that I went Trick or Treating here in Toronto. Nights are dark and on Halloween (October 31st), there is going to be more dark time than light time. If you plan to be out in the evening, make sure you bring a flashlight with you just in case you happen to end up in any deserted areas.
3) Have a designated driver – While Halloween’s usually not thought of as a party holiday in the sense of getting drunk, at the same time most partiers will use any excuse to have a few. And that’s okay, so long as you are responsible about the drive back. Make sure that the person driving does not have too much to drink and preferably has nothing to drink at all so that they can make sure everyone gets home safely.
4) If in doubt, take transit or a taxi – There is no, I repeat, no excuse whatsoever to get behind the wheel of a car intoxicated. We live in a city of 5 million people with 5 large taxi companies and one of the largest transit systems in North America; both bus and subway. If you can’t make the drive home because of intoxication, use one of the many other options at your disposal and come back to get your car the next day when you’ve sobered up.
5) Don’t visit houses that don’t have lights on – This isn’t really a safety tip, but it’s something I’ve learned from my trick or treating days. When someone doesn’t have one of the street-facing rooms in their house lit, it usually means that they don’t want people knocking on their door for trick or treat.
6) Parents should check food kids bring back – I remember every year that the news used to tell us this and I totally shrugged it off each time. That was until a friend of mine told me at school one day that his dad had found a nail in one of the chocolate bars he’d been given. Parents, make sure you check the candy your kids bring back, before your kids have had a chance to eat it. Check that no wrappers are broken and nothing looks suspicious.
7) If it looks suspicious, get rid of it – Even if you’re not sure that there’s anything wrong with something, if you feel bad about anything at all don’t hesitate to throw it out.
Try not to wear any exotic scents – While exotic scents might accompany a costume very well, there are a lot of people allergic to the chemicals used in most exotic scents and therefore it is better if you just don’t wear them.
9) Charge your cell phone beforehand – You never know when you might need it!
10) Make sure you can see through your costume – Some very unfortunate accidents have happened because people have had imparied vision due to masks and make-up on Halloween. Make sure that this isn’t even a possibility for you by making sure that your costume allows you to have clear eyesight at all times.
Well, there are my ten ways for staying safe this Halloween, follow them and you’ll have a great time that is worry-free. Tomorrow I’ll wrap up my segment on Halloween in Hogtown in the 2007 year and we’ll then move on to something else.
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