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Forget Poisoned Candy and Razor Blades. Here's the Real Halloween Horror

posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday October 30 2019, @12:39PM   Printer-friendly
from the look-both-ways dept.

Freeman writes:

Though fear still lingers over toxic treats and boobytrapped apples, researchers separate fact from myth. As pediatrician Aaron Carroll notes today in The New York Times, researchers haven't been able to substantiate a single case when a child was seriously injured—let alone killed—by Halloween treats made hazardous by strangers.
[...]
A JAMA Pediatrics study from January of this year found that 4-to-8-year-olds have a tenfold increased risk of getting hit by a car on Halloween than on any other night of the year.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/10/forget-poisoned-candy-and-razor-blades-heres-the-real-halloween-horror/
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2711459[$]

Verdict: Boogey Man not likely to exist.
Actual Problem: Getting run over by a car when crossing the street.

Stay safe out there.

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Wednesday October 30 2019, @03:55PM

    by Freeman (732) on Wednesday October 30 2019, @03:55PM (#913763) Journal

    On October 31 each year, millions of children in the United States celebrate Halloween by walking door to door to collect candy from neighbors, while adults and adolescents engage in Halloween festivities. The holiday may heighten pedestrian traffic risk, because celebrations occur at dusk, masks restrict peripheral vision, costumes limit visibility, street-crossing safety is neglected, and some partygoers are impaired by alcohol.1 Mitigating factors include broad public awareness of Halloween, widespread parental supervision of younger children, and the potential for improved safety as pedestrian numbers increase. Prior studies of Halloween traffic risks have been limited to brief observations, failed to test for statistical significance, or lacked appropriate control groups.2,3 We therefore examined 4 decades of national data to systematically evaluate pedestrian fatality risks on Halloween and highlight opportunities for year-round injury prevention.

    From the study.
    https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/2711459 [jamanetwork.com]

    Seems like instead of "junk news", this study was designed to be a more authoritative source on the subject.

    --
    Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
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