Impaired drivers are involved in 60 percent of Halloween night auto accidents, attorneys in Jacksonville say. Harrell and Harrell offers tips for keeping your family safe.

Kids and adults alike are excited about next week’s spooky fun celebrations. But auto accident attorneys with Jacksonville’s Harrell and Harrell warn that many real-life horror stories play out on the roadways on Halloween night.

Statistics from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration show that 60 percent of Halloween highway fatalities involve impaired drivers; and that children are more than twice as likely to be killed by a car while walking on Halloween as any other night of the year.

Adults attending Halloween parties almost inevitably will enjoy a few alcoholic drinks. If you plan to drink, designate a non-drinking driver for the evening. If you’re hosting a Halloween party, keep in mind that you may be held partially responsible for an accident caused by a guest who drank at your party if you know that person then drove impaired.

If you have children who will trick-or-treat that night, go with them and watch vigilantly for cars speeding or traveling erratically down neighborhood streets. Remember that this is an exciting night for children, anxious to show off their costumes to friends they see along the way, and of course, to be first at the door to get the “good” candy. Despite your firmly stated rules, they’re apt to dart out into neighborhood streets without first looking both ways. Also, dark costumes make children less visible to drivers, impaired or not. Make sure drivers see your children by encouraging them to choose light or bright colored costumes or by marking dark costumes with strips of reflective tape that will shine in the beam of a car’s headlights. Having children carry flashlights or glow sticks helps as well.

If you or your child are injured in a Halloween night auto accident, attorneys with Jacksonville’s Harrell and Harrell can help assure you get fair compensation. Call 800.251.1111.

From all of us here at Harrell and Harrell, have a safe and happy Halloween!

The good news is crimes were down locally and statewide for 2009. 

The bad news is Jacksonville still had the highest crime rate in the state per 100,000 population and the highest per-capita murder rate of all metropolitan areas in the state. The murder rate has been the highest for 11 years running.  For more information on the crime in Jacksonville, go to the Times Union news story.

The residents of Jacksonville need to be aware of the high crime rate in Jacksonville and take steps to keep themselves and their families safe.  Harrell and Harrell is doing their best to make sure owners and managers of malls, hotels, businesses and apartment complexes are keeping their premises safe for Jacksonville families.  However, if you’ve been the victim of a crime outside your home, please call Harrell and Harrell or visit us on the web.