HPD Provides Suggestions on How to Stay Safe on Halloween

Hawai‘i Police Department provides advice on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on Halloween and stay safe.

Officials advise wearing a mask to stem the spread of the virus. Additionally, those walking around this weekend are advised to wear light-colored or reflective materials, carry a flashlight, and walk facing the flow of traffic.

“Make sure you’re not distracted by an electronic device and cross the road at an intersection,” HPD stated in a press release Friday. “Drivers don’t expect to see pedestrians on the road in the middle of a block, which can lead to a crash or even worse.”

For those planning on consuming alcohol, police suggest creating a buddy system to get each other home safely. Walking impaired, officials say, can be just as dangerous as drunk driving.

HPD suggest various ways motorists can make traveling on Halloween safe for drivers and pedestrians:

• Avoid using handheld electronic devices.
• Remember that as soon as you step out of your car, you become a pedestrian.
• If you see a drunk driver or impaired pedestrian on the road, contact local law enforcement.
• Be especially alert for all road users, including pedestrians, at night.
• Slow down in areas where pedestrians are likely to be or where sight distances are limited. Keep your windshield clean.
• If you attend a small gathering and drink alcohol or consume anything that will impair your ability to operate a vehicle safely, don’t drive.

Hawaiʻi Police Department Patrol Officers and Traffic Enforcement Units will be out specifically looking for drunk drivers this weekend.

“If you are under the influence of any substance that prevents driving safely and an officer stops you, you will be arrested,” HPD states. “The fines, court fees, attorney fees are all costly, but the impact of a serious crash can carry more than a financial cost.”

Remember, buzzed driving is drunk driving, police added.