For Trick-or-Treaters
- Carry a flashlight
- Walk, don’t run.
- Stay on Sidewalks
- Obey traffic signals
- Stay in familiar neighborhoods
- Don’t cut across yards or driveways.
- Wear a watch you can read in the dark.
- Make sure costumes don’t drag on the ground.
- Shoes should fit (even if they don’t go with your costume)
- Avoid wearing masks while walking from house to house.
- Carry only flexible knives, swords or other props.
- (If no sidewalk) walk on the left side of the road facing traffic
- Wear clothing with reflective markings or tape.
- Approach only houses that are lit.
- Stay away from and don’t pet animals you don’t know.
For Parents
- Make your child eat dinner before setting out.
- Children should carry quarters so they can call home.
- Ideally, young children of any age should be accompanied by an adult.
- If your children go on their own, be sure they wear a watch, preferably one that can be read in the dark.
- If you buy a costume, look for one made of flame-retardant material.
- Older children should know where to reach you and when to be home.
- You should know where they’re going.
- Although tampering is rare, tell children to bring the candy home to be inspected before consuming anything.
- Look at the wrapping carefully and toss out anything that looks suspect.
For Homeowners
- Make sure your yard is clear of such things as ladders, hoses, dog leashes and flower pots that can trip the young ones.
- Pets get frightened on Halloween. Put them up to protect them from cars or inadvertently bitting a trick-or-treater.
- Battery powered jack o’lantern candles are preferable to a real flame.
- If you do use candles, place the pumpkin well away from where trick-or-treaters will be walking or standing.
- Make sure paper or cloth yard decorations won’t be blown into a flaming candle.
- Healthy food alternatives for trick-or-treaters include packages of low-fat crackers with cheese or peanut butter filling, single-serve boxes of cereal, packaged fruit rolls, mini boxes of raisins and single-serve packets of low-fat popcorn that can be microwaved later.
- Non-food treats: plastic rings, pencils, stickers, erasers, coins.
For our insured and for our agents who spend countless hours on their cellphones, take heed of the new cellphone law in effect July 1st of this year. At that time, it will be a ticketable offense to talk on your cell phone while driving. That means you can get pulled over and fined $20 for the first offense and $50 for subsequent offenses.
Freddie Mac has launched an anti-fraud video on YouTubeTM in an effort to warn troubled borrowers about the dangers of falling victim to con artists promising to help them avoid foreclosure through various fraudulent workout options.
Real estate professionals and police on Long Island, N.Y., where there have been a string of burglaries at open houses, offer this advice for homeowners and practitioners concerned about security at their open house events.