The actual threat to kids on Halloween? Being hit by cars.

Halloween.
(Image credit: iStock.)

You probably don't have to worry about kids eating a razorblade-stuffed Snickers bar on Halloween.

Instead, you should probably pay better attention to where you're driving, even if you don't have a child in the backseat. That's because more than three times as many pedestrian children have been hit and killed by a car on Halloween than any other day of the year, The Washington Post reports via National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data.

Between 2004 and 2018, an average of 18 children were hit and killed by a car each day of the year. The federal highway data doesn't show consistent spikes in pedestrian deaths on certain days or times of year — except on Halloween. On that day throughout the time span measured, a total of 54 kids were struck and killed by a car, per the Post.

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While that number is devastating, it's important to note that it's much more likely for children to simply be on the street on Halloween. Still, safe driving — and walking — is a far more relevant PSA than warnings of marijuana-laced candy.

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Kathryn Krawczyk

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.