Tips for a safe Halloween

Saturday, Oct. 31, 1998 | 11:01 a.m.

The fright associated with Halloween can extend beyond the scary costumes and glow-in-the-dark skulls, local safety officials say.

"Anytime there is a holiday, there is an increase in injuries," Sharon Chayra, spokeswoman for Clark County SAFE KIDS Coalition, said.

The bulky costumes and blinding masks worn by young trick-or-treaters often make it difficult to walk safely through dark neighborhoods, she said.

And this year, there is an added danger: Because Halloween falls on a Saturday, there is a greater chance of drunken drivers being on the roads.

Chayra said 150,000 children, ages 14 and younger, are killed or injured nationwide throughout the year in accidents that could have been prevented. She did not have specific statistics for Halloween, however.

"More kids die from preventable situations than all diseases put together," she said.

With the excitement of the holiday, children are more apt to run into the streets. "It's an exciting holiday for them," Chayra said. "They're getting candy and dressing up. In their enthusiasm they're not paying as much attention.

"That's where parents come into play. Making sure the child is accompanied by a responsible adult is the most preventable measure in reducing injury."

Toy weapons can also be a hazard, she said. "Make sure a toy gun is overtly a toy, such as a fluorescent-green gun."

A lesser danger, but still scary for young kids, is Halloween-associated crime, Metro Police spokesman Steve Meriwether said. The main complaints Metro receives involve candy-snatching and vandalism with shaving cream or eggs. "We always have older kids taking bags of candy from younger kids," Meriwether said.

He suggests that families unfamiliar with their neighborhood take children to controlled Halloween events. A few choices for tonight:

-- Safe Street at the All American Sportpark, 121 E. Sunset Road, at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Sunset, 3-7 p.m. Hosted by KSNE-FM 106.5, Safe Street offers trick-or-treating at 20 booths, entertainment and a haunted house. Admission to the haunted house is $1.

-- The Galleria at Sunset mall, 1300 Sunset Road, 4-7 p.m. There will be trick-or-treating at participating stores; Halloween storytelling begins at noon; and a costume contest begins at 4 p.m. in the food court.

-- The Meadows mall, 4300 Meadows Lane, 6-9 p.m. Trick-or-treating is sanctioned at participating stores, which will have a Scooby Doo balloon out front.