Search

The study results serve as a reminder for parents, children, and drivers to be alert to the danger of traffic crashes on Halloween. The aim of this study was to examine whether Halloween is associated with a higher incidence of traffic injuries and whether traffic injuries sustained on Halloween are more severe than those sustained on other days. The U.K. STATS19 database, including the data of all road traffic crashes occurring from 1990 to 2017, was employed. A total of 73,587 pediatric traffic casualties (involving pedestrians, cyclists, and moped riders) were included. Between 17:00 and 19:00 (17:00~18:59) on Halloween, the number of casualties was higher than that on other public holidays and usual days. The logistic regression model revealed that, between 17:00 and 18:00 (17:00~17:59), the risk of being killed or seriously injured on Halloween was 34.2% higher (odds ratio = 1.342; 95% CI = 1.065-1.692) than that on other days. Pediatric crashes occurring on Halloween are associated with a higher number of injuries and increased injury severity.

Background: Research suggests that drivers tend to engage in risk-taking behaviours on public holidays. Studies that examined the association between holidays (or other special days) and fatal injuries are inconsistent. This study used UK STATS19 data to investigate the associations of nine public holidays on road crash casualties., Methods: This retrospective study assessed UK STATS19 crash data for 1990-2017. All casualties from two vehicle crashes were initially considered; subsequently, casualties with missing data were excluded. Multiple logistic regression was estimated to explore the associations of potential risk factors with the likelihood of killed or seriously injured (KSI) casualties and to calculate adjusted odds ratios (AORs)., Results: In total, 3,751,998 casualties from traffic accidents in the United Kingdom during 1990-2017 were included in the final data set; among these, 410,299 (10.9%) were KSI casualties, and 3,341,699 (89.1%) were slight injuries. Crashes on public holidays were 16% (AOR = 1.16; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.13-1.19) more likely to involve KSI casualties than were crashes on non-holidays. With other factors controlled for, crashes during the Queen's 2002 Golden Jubilee and on New Year's Day were 48% (AOR = 1.48; 95% CI = 1.06-2.07) and 36% (AOR = 1.36; 1.26-1.48) more likely to lead to KSIs, respectively., Conclusions: The proportion of crashes resulting in KSI casualties on public holidays was higher than that on non-holidays. Furthermore, crashes during the Queen's 2002 Golden Jubilee had the highest risk of KSI casualties followed by New Year's Day.