Winter Weather Driving Tips from AAA

Severe weather can be both frightening and dangerous for automobile travel. Motorists should know the safety rules for dealing with winter road emergencies. AAA reminds motorists to be cautious while driving in adverse weather. For more information on winter driving, the association offers theHow to Go on Ice and Snow brochure, available through most AAA offices. Contact your local AAA club for more information.

AAA recommends the following winter driving tips:

• Avoid driving while you’re fatigued. Getting the proper amount of rest before taking on winter weather tasks reduces driving risks.
• Never warm up a vehicle in an enclosed area, such as a garage.
• Make certain your tires are properly inflated.
• Never mix radial tires with other tire types.
• Keep your gas tank at least half full to avoid gas line freeze-up.
• If possible, avoid using your parking brake in cold, rainy and snowy weather.
• Do not use cruise control when driving on any slippery surface (wet, ice, sand).
• Always look and steer where you want to go.
• Use your seat belt every time you get into your vehicle.

Tips for long-distance winter trips:

• Watch weather reports prior to a long-distance drive or before driving in isolated areas. Delay trips when especially bad weather is expected. If you must leave, let others know your route, destination and estimated time of arrival.
• Always make sure your vehicle is in peak operating condition by having it inspected by a AAA Approved Auto Repair facility.
• Keep at least half a tank of gasoline in your vehicle at all times.
• Pack a cellular telephone with your local AAA’s telephone number, plus blankets, gloves, hats, food, water and any needed medication in your vehicle.
• If you become snow-bound, stay with your vehicle. It provides temporary shelter and makes it easier for rescuers to locate you. Don’t try to walk in a severe storm. It’s easy to lose sight of your vehicle in blowing snow and become lost.
• Don’t over exert yourself if you try to push or dig your vehicle out of the snow.
• Tie a brightly colored cloth to the antenna or place a cloth at the top of a rolled up window to signal distress. At night, keep the dome light on if possible. It only uses a small amount of electricity and will make it easier for rescuers to find you.
• Make sure the exhaust pipe isn’t clogged with snow, ice or mud. A blocked exhaust could cause deadly carbon monoxide gas to leak into the passenger compartment with the engine running.
• Use whatever is available to insulate your body from the cold. This could include floor mats, newspapers or paper maps.
• If possible run the engine and heater just long enough to remove the chill and to conserve gasoline.

Tips for driving in the snow:

• Accelerate and decelerate slowly. Applying the gas slowly to accelerate is the best method for regaining traction and avoiding skids. Don’t try to get moving in a hurry. And take time to slow down for a stoplight. Remember: It takes longer to slow down on icy roads.
• Drive slowly. Everything takes longer on snow-covered roads. Accelerating, stopping, turning – nothing happens as quickly as on dry pavement. Give yourself time to maneuver by driving slowly.
• The normal dry pavement following distance of three to four seconds should be increased to eight to ten seconds. This increased margin of safety will provide the longer distance needed if you have to stop.
• Know your brakes. Whether you have antilock brakes or not, the best way to stop is threshold breaking. Keep the heel of your foot on the floor and use the ball of your foot to apply firm, steady pressure on the brake pedal.
• Don’t stop if you can avoid it. There’s a big difference in the amount of inertia it takes to start moving from a full stop versus how much it takes to get moving while still rolling. If you can slow down enough to keep rolling until a traffic light changes, do it.
• Don’t power up hills. Applying extra gas on snow-covered roads just starts your wheels spinning. Try to get a little inertia going before you reach the hill and let that inertia carry you to the top. As you reach the crest of the hill, reduce your speed and proceed down hill as slowly as possible.
• Don’t stop going up a hill. There’s nothing worse than trying to get moving up a hill on an icy road. Get some inertia going on a flat roadway before you take on the hill.
• Stay home. If you really don’t have to go out, don’t. Even if you can drive well in the snow, not everyone else can. Don’t tempt fate: If you don’t have somewhere you have to be, watch the snow from indoors.

How to fireproof your Christmas tree

First, let us go through the materials you'll need to fireproof your tree.  You'll need the following materials: Karo syrup from the supermarket, Epsom salt from the drug store, a small can of "Boraxo" from the supermarket, liquid chlorine bleach from your laundry closet, and a small packet of chelated iron (it's pronounced KEY-lated) from the garden shop or plant store.  You'll also need a two-gallon bucket or pail.

Secondly, here are some hints for choosing the freshest tree.  Keep in mind that most trees are cut six to ten weeks before you see them in your neighborhood.  That's one problem, but the other is going to hamper  your choosing the right tree.  This happens because most Christmas trees today are "sprayed" with a green dye at the Christmas tree farm a week or two before they are cut and shipped to market.  This dye is sprayed on all trees, the good and the bad, making it difficult for the consumer to tell precisely which is a healthy tree and which is not.  However, it isn't a hopeless cause.

When you go shopping for your Christmas tree, find one that meets your standards for height, shape and fullness.  When you've narrowed your choice to a few trees, check to see that each is healthy.  Find a bad side of the tree, then try and snap a very small branch with your fingers.  Preferably, this should be at the bottom of the tree because this is the first place where water would be in short supply.  Try to snap the branch with your fingers; if it snaps easily, know right away that the tissue is dead, and the story is the same for the rest of the tree.  DON'T BUY THAT TREE!

However, if the branch doesn't snap easily, that's a good indication that the tissue is very much alive.  But don't stop there.  Snap the mall branch just the same, and then look at the woody tissue under the bark.

If the color is white or a pale green, then the tissue is alive, and the tree healthy.  If the wood looks to be brown or close to it, that means the tissue is in the process of dying, in which case you do not buy that tree!  No matter what, ALWAYS BUY A TREE THAT HAS LIVE TISSUE, either white or pale green.  This means that the homemade preservative that you're about to make will make it fireproof!

Now that you've purchased your tree, let's show you how to fireproof it!

1.  Once you get home, get a saw and IMMEDIATELY make a fresh cut at the base of the tree trunk.  This is MANDATORY for any tree you've bought.  Go down about an inch ABOVE the bottom of the trunk and make a fresh cut there with your saw.  Try to make a level cut when you do.

2.  Next, let's consider a place for storing your tree because, ideally, YOU SHOULD BE BUYING YOUR TREE AT LEAST 10 DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS.  If it's longer that that, fine, but don't buy it at the last minute and expect to have it fireproofed before it goes into the house.  Storage should not be a problem as long as the tree is protected from the wind.  An ideal place would be the garage, a carport, possibly a balcony for apartment dwellers.  The last resort would be a basement, hopefully a cool one.

3.  Immediately after making your cut at the bottom of the tree trunk, mix your homemade preservative.

Into the two-gallon bucket, add HOT WATER from the kitchen faucet. Fill the bucket with hot water to within an inch or so of the top of the bucket.  Then, into the hot water, add the following ingredients:

...two cups of Karo syrup

...two ounces of liquid chlorine bleach

...two pinches of Epsom salt

...one-half teaspoon of Boraxo

...one teaspoon of chelated iron

Stir these ingredients thoroughly in the bucket, then IMMEDIATELY stand the trunk of the tree in this solution.  Leave the tree in the bucket until the day comes when you want to take the tree indoors for decoration.

4.  When the tree goes indoors, stand the trunk in the tree stand and decorate it as you always do, then move the tree into its final resting place in the house.  THEN, GET THE BUCKET FILLED WITH YOUR INGREDIENTS, HAVE A PLASTIC CUP HANDY, DRAW OFF THE MIXTURE FROM THE

BUCKET AND FILL THE WELL OF THE TREE STAND RIGHT UP TO THE TOP.

5.  Here, assign some responsibility for what happens after that. Someone in the family must see to it that, EVERY DAY WITHOUT EXCEPTION, THE WELL OF THE TREE STAND MUST BE KEPT FILLED WITH THE SOLUTION IN YOUR TWO-GALLON BUCKET.

A hint: in the morning when you get up, FILL THE WELL OF THE TREE STAND WITH FLUID RIGHT UP TO THE TOP.  When you retire for the evening AGAIN FILL THE WELL OF THE TREE STAND.  The well must be kept filled so the solution is always readily available to your Christmas tree, and then IT IS FIREPROOFED.

How can the tree be fireproofed this way?  Actually, it's very easy and let's explain why...

The Karo syrup provides the SUGAR, and it is only in the presence of sugar that tremendous amounts of water will be taken up by the exposed tissue at the base of the tree trunk.  Without the sugar, only the smallest bit of water will be absorbed.  However, in the presence of the sugar, you can expect more than one and one-half gallons of the water to be absorbed by the tree during the 10 to 14-day period that the tree is exposed to your homemade preservative.

But there is more.  Thanks to the boron you have supplied (in the Boraxo), the water and sugar will be moved to every needle and branch of your tree.  Remember that boron is what makes sugar move, not only in trees, but vegetables, fruits and even house plants.

Then, there's the Epsom salt and the chelated iron.  Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate, and magnesium (together with iron) are the center molecules in the process we know as chlorophyll production. By making

the magnesium and iron available to the tree, you're assuring yourself of green needles, even if the tree was not sprayed at the tree farm before it was shipped to market.

Oh yes, why the liquid chlorine bleach?  Chlorine stops a mold from forming when water and sugar stand for any period of time.  Here, the chlorine stops the mold from forming in the bucket and the material added to the well of your tree stand.

Finally, what are the benefits from preserving your tree this way?

1.  Your tree will be SOAKING WET with water, in fact, at least 800 percent more water that when the tree was growing in the forest.

2.  The tree will NOT become a fire hazard in your house because it is soaking wet, almost like a sponge.

3.  No needles will drop, no matter what variety of evergreen you are displaying in your house.  At the same time, the tree will give off a fragrance like that which you've sensed when walking through a

forest of evergreens.

4.  Finally, make the test.  When the holidays are over and the tree is taken down in the house, move the tree outdoors and cut one of  the branches.  Then, move away from the tree, light a match, and see

if the branch will burn.  IT WON'T...guaranteed!

5.  Also, if you have an outdoor garden of any size, be ecology conscious.  Cut the branches from the tree, then scatter the branches over the mulch previously applied to your roses, tulip and bulb garden, atop the mulch over your flower bed.  A thick layer of these evergreen boughs is added protection for your plants over the winter.

Then, cut up the tree trunk into small sections and add it to the trash can.

So, fireproof your live evergreen this Christmas and enjoy a Safe and Happy Holiday!

Holiday Decorating Safety Tips

Trees

Many artificial trees are fire resistant. If you buy one, look for a statement specifying this protection.
A fresh tree will stay green longer and be less of a fire hazard than a dry tree. To check for freshness,
remember:

• A fresh tree is green.
• Fresh needles are hard to pull from branches.
• When bent between your fingers, fresh needles do not break.
• The trunk butt of a fresh tree is sticky with resin.
• When the trunk of a tree is bounced on the ground, a shower of falling needles shows that tree is too dry.

Place tree away from fireplaces, radiators and other heat sources. Heated rooms dry trees out rapidly, creating fire hazards.


Cut off about two inches of the trunk to expose fresh wood for better water absorption.

Trim away branches as necessary to set tree trunk in the base of a sturdy, water-holding stand with wide spread feet.

Keep the stand filled with water while the tree is indoors.

Place the tree out of the way of traffic and do not block doorways.

Use thin guy-wires to secure a large tree to walls or ceiling. These wires are almost invisible.

“Snow”

Artificial snow sprays can irritate lungs if inhaled. To avoid injury, read container labels; follow directions carefully.

Lights

Indoors or outside, use only lights that have been tested for safety. Identify these by the label from an independent testing laboratory.

Check each set of lights, new or old, for broken or cracked sockets, frayed or bare wires, or loose connections. Discard damaged sets or repair them before using.

Fasten outdoor lights securely to trees, house, walls or other firm support to protect from wind damage.

Use no more than three standard-size sets of lights per single extension cord.

Turn off all lights on trees and other decorations when you go to bed or leave the house. Lights could short and start a fire.

Never use electric lights on a metallic tree.  The tree can become charged with electricity from faulty lights, and any person touching a branch could be electrocuted! To avoid this danger, use colored spotlights above or beside a tree, never fastened onto it!

Keep “bubbling” lights away from children. These lights with their bright colors and bubbling movement can tempt curious children to break candle-shaped glass, which can cut, and attempt to drink liquid, which contains a hazardous chemical.

Candles

Never use lighted candles on a tree or near other evergreens.

Always use non-flammable holders.

Keep candles away from other decorations and wrapping paper.

Place candles where they cannot be knocked down or blown over.

Trimmings

Use only non-combustible or flame-resistant materials.

Wear gloves while decorating with spun glass “angel hair” to avoid irritation to eyes and skin.

Choose tinsel or artificial icicles or plastic or non-leaded metals.  Leaded materials are hazardous if ingested by children.

In homes with small children, take special care to:

• Avoid decorations that are sharp or breakable.
• Keep trimmings with small removable parts out of the reach of children. Pieces could be swallowed or inhaled.
• Avoid trimmings that resemble candy or food. A child could eat them!

Fires

Before lighting any fire, remove all greens, boughs, papers, and other decorations from fireplace area. Check to see that flue is open.  Keep a screen before the fireplace all the time a fire is burning.

Use care with “fire salts” which produce colored flames when thrown on wood fires. They contain heavy metals which can cause intense gastrointestinal irritation or vomiting if eaten. Keep away from children.

Paper

When making paper decorations, look for materials labeled non-combustible or flame-resistant.

Never place trimming near open flames or electrical connections.  Remove all wrapping papers 

from tree and fireplace areas immediately after presents are opened. 

Do not burn papers in the fireplace. A flash fire may result as wrappings ignite suddenly and burn intensely. 

General Rules for Holiday Safety

• Keep matches, lighters, and candles out of the reach of children.
• Avoid smoking near flammable decorations.
• Make an emergency plan to use if a fire breaks out anywhere in the home. See that each family member knows what to do. PRACTICE THE PLAN!
• Avoid wearing loose flowing clothes—particularly long, open sleeves—near open flames - such as those of a fireplace, stove, or candlelit table.
• Never burn candles near evergreens. Burning evergreens in the fireplace can also be hazardous. When dry, greens burn like tinder. Flames can flare out of control, and send sparks flying into a room, or up the chimney to ignite creosote deposits.
• Plan for safety. Remember, there is no substitute for common sense. Look for and eliminate potential danger spots near candles, fireplaces, trees, and/or electrical connections. 

Travel Safety Tips

Getting ready to head out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday?  Be sure to follow these safety tips for travelling.

BEFORE YOU GO

• Research basic information about your destination
• Leave a copy of your itinerary with a trusted family member or friend
• If you are driving, make sure your vehicle is in good working order
• Get copies of maps of your destination to locate routes, attractions, and essential services
• Consider joining AAA or another travel club for roadside assistance or other travel assistance

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL TIPS

• Did you know that you need a current, valid passport if you are traveling anywhere outside of the U.S., including Canada and Mexico? If you don't have a current, valid passport, visit the U.S. State Department's Web site to apply for or renew your passport.
• In addition to a passport, you may also need a visa to visit some countries. Check with either the U.S. State Department's Web site or your host country or countries' tourism or foreign affairs Web sites.
• Plan to drive in another country? Check to see if your driver's license is valid abroad. You may also need an International Driving Permit or a translation of your U.S. driver's license. Visit AAA's IDP web site to apply.
• Find the local U.S. consulate or embassy's address and phone number.
• Research basic information about the country or countries you plan to visit to help you become familiar with local laws and customs. Your library or travel agent are valuable resources here. Also, check with the U.S. State Department to see if there are any warnings or advisories for special considerations for the country or countries you plan to visit.
• Become familiar with some basic words and phrases in the language of the country or countries you plan to visit.
• Register with the U.S. State Department to make it easier for the U.S. government to help you in an emergency abroad.
• Make photocopies of your passport, airline tickets, visa, Carry one set of copies in a safe place and leave another set of copies at home with a trusted family member or friend.
• Your health and accident insurance may not be valid outside of the U.S. Check with your insurance provider to see if you need additional travel health/accident insurance.
• Some countries have restrictions on things you can bring with you or take home with you.
• There may be restrictions on bringing certain things back to the U.S. with you. Check with U.S. Customs and Border Protection for more details.

GETTING PACKED

• Travel light.
• If you need any prescription medication, bring enough to last you the duration of your trip. Also, if you wear glasses, bring an extra pair.
• Keep medicines in their original containers. You may also need a letter from your doctor explaining why you need certain medicines.
• Don't pack or bring any prohibited items, such as weapons, sharp objects, or dangerous substances.
• Don't bring a lot of cash or credit cards. Instead, bring travelers' checks, one or two credit cards, and only a small amount of cash.
• Don't pack or bring valuables, such as a jot of jewelry.
• Make sure your baggage is labeled with your name and phone number, but use a luggage tag. You may also consider using your work address and phone number on your luggage tags.
• Remember the rules for what you can carry on and what needs to be checked when flying. Visit the Transportation Security Administration web site to learn more about these rules.

AT THE AIRPORT AND IN THE AIR

• Don't leave your baggage unattended
• Don't let anyone other than airport staff members handle your luggage
• Don't accept any packages from strangers
• Report any suspicious activities
• Follow all safety and security rules and instructions

ON THE ROAD

• Wear your seat belt
• Don't drink and drive, and don't ride with anyone who has been drinking
• Make sure that your children are in approved child safety seats
• Don't drive if you feel drowsy
• Don't use cell phones or other electronic devices while driving
• Don't hitch hike, and don't pick up hitch hikers
• Be aware of road conditions and your surroundings
• Park in well-lit and well-traveled areas
• Keep your car's doors locked
• Don't place your baggage or other valuables in a place where criminals can easily see them
• If you are having car trouble, only accept help from police or other authorized personnel

IN YOUR HOTEL

• Find the nearest fire exits, fire alarm, fire extinguisher/hose to your room
• Keep your hotel room door locked at all times
• Ask visitors to meet you in the lobby or other public spaces in your hotel
• Use the hotel safe to store valuables
• Don't get into an elevator alone with suspicious strangers
• Ask hotel staff about safety and security policies if you are unsure

OUT AND ABOUT

• Pay attention to your surroundings
• Don't take more cash, travelers' checks, or credit cards than you need
• Don't accept rides from strangers
• Avoid large crowds, demonstrations, or public confrontations
• Keep a low profile
• Don't have too much alcohol to drink
• Stay in well-lit and well-traveled places
• Don't "flash" your cash or other valuables
• Don't discuss travel plans with strangers
• Find the location of the nearest police station, hospital, and other safe places .
• Report any suspicious activities to the police
• If you are robbed, don't resist

Fall Health and Safety Tips for your Family

Fall into good habits this autumn! Follow these tips to help you and your family stay safe and healthy.

Keep your kids safe and healthy.

Get involved with your kids’ activities at home and at school to help ensure they are safe and healthy.

• Autumn Games and Health Tips for Kids and Parents
• Autumn Tips to Help Keep Your Kids Safe and Healthy
• Safe and Healthy Kids and Teens
• Adolescent and School Health
• Learn to Prevent and Recognize Concussions
• Parent Portal
• Child Passenger Safety
• Ways to Engage in Your Child's School to Support Student Health and Learning 

Take steps to prevent the flu.

The single best way to protect against the flu is to get vaccinated each year in the fall. Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Wash your hands often. Stay home if you get sick.

• Flu Season Is Around the Corner
• Seasonal Flu Vaccination
• Take 3 Actions to Fight the Flu

Get smart about antibiotics.

Antibiotics can cure bacterial infections, but not viral infections. The common cold and the flu are viral infections, so avoid using antibiotics if you have one of these. Using antibiotics when they are not needed causes some bacteria to become resistant to the antibiotic, and therefore stronger and harder to kill. See your doctor or nurse to find out if your illness is bacterial or viral.

• Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work

Test and replace batteries.

Check or replace carbon monoxide batteries twice a year: when you change the time on your clocks each spring and fall. Replace smoke alarm alkaline batteries at least once a year. Test alarms every month to ensure they work properly.

• Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention
• Fire Deaths and Injuries: Fact Sheet

Keep food safe.

Food is center stage during the holidays. Be sure to keep it safe by following basic food safety steps. Clean hands and surfaces often. Separate foods to avoid cross-contamination. Cook to proper temperatures. Chill promptly.

• Recipes for Disaster: Keep Safe from Food Poisoning
• Fruits and Veggies
• Fruit and Veggie Recipes
• It’s Turkey Time: Safely Prepare Your Holiday Meal

Learn your family history.

National Family History Day is observed on Thanksgiving Day. Over the holiday or at another family gathering, talk about and write down the health conditions that run in your family. Learning about your family's health history can help you take steps to ensure a longer, healthier future together.

• Family Health History
• My Family Health Portrait (US Surgeon General)

Be prepared for cold weather.

Exposure to cold temperatures can cause serious health problems. Infants and the elderly are particularly at risk, but anyone can be affected. Know how to prevent health problems and what to do if a cold-weather emergency arises. Remember that using space heaters and fireplaces can increase the risk of household fires and carbon monoxide poisoning.

• About Winter Weather
• Stay Safe and Healthy in Winter Weather

Don’t drink and drive.

Alcohol use impairs skills needed to drive a car safely. It slows reaction time and impairs judgment and coordination. Alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes kill someone every 48 minutes. Don’t drink and drive, and don’t let others drink and drive.

• Alcohol: Frequently Asked Questions
• Motor Vehicle Safety
• Impaired Driving: Get the Facts

Wash your hands.

Keeping hands clean is one of the most important steps you can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. It’s best to wash your hands with soap and clean running water for 20 seconds. If that’s not possible, use alcohol-based hand rubs.

• Clean Hands Save Lives
• Wash Your Hands

November is National Diabetes Month

More than 29 million Americans have diabetes, and about 86 million more are on the verge of the disease. People with diabetes are nearly two times more likely than people without diabetes to die from heart disease, and are also at greater risk for kidney, eye and nerve diseases, among other painful and costly complications.

This year, in observance of National Diabetes Month, including World Diabetes Day on Nov. 14, The National Institutes of Health asks people to take to heart the lessons learned from our research. Type 2 diabetes can be delayed or prevented, and both types 1 and 2 diabetes can be managed to prevent complications.

In type 1 diabetes, the body does not make insulin. In type 2 diabetes — the most common type, which has increased along with the obesity epidemic — the body does not make or use insulin well. A third type, gestational diabetes, occurs in some women during pregnancy. Though it usually goes away after the birth, these women and their children have a greater chance of getting type 2 diabetes later in life.

As the number of people living with type 2 diabetes grows — and the disease has begun to affect young people — identifying safe and effective treatments is key to improving the health of people with diabetes and its complications and those at high risk for the disease.

Research has shown that losing a modest amount of weight — about 15 pounds — through diet and exercise can actually cut your risk of getting type 2 diabetes by as much as 58 percent in people at high risk.

For the approximately 1.5 million children and adults with type 1 diabetes, studies have already found that tight control of blood sugar can prevent diabetes complications. Now researchers are at work to identify genetic and environmental causes of the disease, to create and sustain islet cells to produce insulin, and to advance technology to make the daily lives of people with type 1 diabetes safer, healthier and easier.

There are steps we can take now to protect our health and the health of the people we love. Choose healthy foods to share. Take a brisk walk together every day. Talk with your family about your health and your family’s risk of diabetes and heart disease. If you smoke, seek help to quit. The National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) can help you make positive, lasting changes to improve your health.

This National Diabetes Month, make changes to reduce your risk for diabetes and its complications — for yourself, your families and for future generations.

Halloween Safety Tips

Halloween is an exciting time of year for kids, and to help ensure they have a safe holiday, here are some tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Feel free to excerpt these tips or use them in their entirety for any print or broadcast story, with acknowledgment of source.

ALL DRESSED UP:

• Plan costumes that are bright and reflective. Make sure that shoes fit well and that costumes are short enough to prevent tripping, entanglement or contact with flame.
• Consider adding reflective tape or striping to costumes and trick-or-treat bags for greater visibility.
• Because masks can limit or block eyesight, consider non-toxic makeup and decorative hats as safer alternatives. Hats should fit properly to prevent them from sliding over eyes.
• When shopping for costumes, wigs and accessories look for and purchase those with a label clearly indicating they are flame resistant.
• If a sword, cane, or stick is a part of your child's costume, make sure it is not sharp or too long. A child may be easily hurt by these accessories if he stumbles or trips.
• Obtain flashlights with fresh batteries for all children and their escorts.
• Do not use decorative contact lenses without an eye examination and a prescription from an eye care professional. While the packaging on decorative lenses will often make claims such as “one size fits all,” or “no need to see an eye specialist,” obtaining decorative contact lenses without a prescription is both dangerous and illegal. This can cause pain, inflammation, and serious eye disorders and infections, which may lead to permanent vision loss.
• Teach children how to call 9-1-1 (or their local emergency number) if they have an emergency or become lost. 

CARVING A NICHE:

• Small children should never carve pumpkins. Children can draw a face with markers. Then parents can do the cutting.

• Consider using a flashlight or glow stick instead of a candle to light your pumpkin. If you do use a candle, a votive candle is safest.
• Candlelit pumpkins should be placed on a sturdy table, away from curtains and other flammable objects, and should never be left unattended. 

HOME SAFE HOME:

• To keep homes safe for visiting trick-or-treaters, parents should remove from the porch and front yard anything a child could trip over such as garden hoses, toys, bikes and lawn decorations.
• Parents should check outdoor lights and replace burned-out bulbs.
• Wet leaves or snow should be swept from sidewalks and steps.
• Restrain pets so they do not inadvertently jump on or bite a trick-or-treater. 

ON THE TRICK-OR-TREAT TRAIL:

• A parent or responsible adult should always accompany young children on their neighborhood rounds.

• If your older children are going alone, plan and review the route that is acceptable to you. Agree on a specific time when they should return home.

• Only go to homes with a porch light on and never enter a home or car for a treat.

• Because pedestrian injuries are the most common injuries to children on Halloween, remind Trick-or-Treaters.
• Stay in a group and communicate where they will be going.

•  Remember reflective tape for costumes and trick-or-treat bags.

• Carry a cellphone for quick communication.

• Remain on well-lit streets and always use the sidewalk.

• If no sidewalk is available, walk at the far edge of the roadway facing traffic.

• Never cut across yards or use alleys.

• Only cross the street as a group in established crosswalks (as recognized by local custom). Never cross between parked cars or out driveways.

• Don’t assume the right of way. Motorists may have trouble seeing Trick-or-Treaters. Just because one car stops, doesn't mean others will!

• Law enforcement authorities should be notified immediately of any suspicious or unlawful activity.

 HEALTHY HALLOWEEN:

• A good meal prior to parties and trick-or-treating will discourage youngsters from filling up on Halloween treats.
• Consider purchasing non-food treats for those who visit your home, such as coloring books or pens and pencils.
• Wait until children are home to sort and check treats. Though tampering is rare, a responsible adult should closely examine all treats and throw away any spoiled, unwrapped or suspicious items.
• Try to ration treats for the days following Halloween.