How to Stay Safe While Trick-or-Treating

Upper Macungie police are asking parents to make sure their kids are safe this Friday during the township's trick-or-treat night.

"It is important for your children to practice good safety habits, but it is just as important for parents to supervise their children properly for their children's safety," police Chief Edgardo Colon wrote in a bulletin last week.

Last year, Halloween in Upper Macungie took a horrific turn when 14-year-old Jordan Steinmitz was struck by a car and killed while trick-or-treating on Schantz Road.

The township police are offering these safety tips:

• Trick-or-treat is always more fun (and safe) in groups than alone. Walk in groups and always with an adult. 
• Keep a flashlight handy, and when you see vehicles approaching, be sure that you use the flashlight to alert motorists of your presence. 
• It’s not a race! Take your time and WALK from house to house, don’t run. If there are crosswalks and sidewalks, use them! 
• If there are no sidewalks, walk to the far left of the roadway as possible. When vehicles approach, step off the roadway until the car passes. 
• See a hazardous situation? Possibly a motorist who is driving recklessly? We want to know about it NOW. Contact Lehigh County Communications non-emergency police dispatch at 610-437-5252. Always use 911 in emergencies.