October 30, 2018

Trunk or Treating with Chevrolet

Halloween is one of my family’s favorite time of the year and really starts off our holiday season. They love dressing in costume, decorating pumpkins, hanging with friends and family while trick or treating and of course eating the chocolates and candy (sadly, leaving behind the candy corn).

This year we added “Trunk or Treat” to the fun. We joined our local church and their sport’s teams.

It was my first time "Trunk or Treating" and I wanted to DIY it and on a budget.

As a busy mama to 4 active children, participating in events like this that brings community together is important as is saving dinero!

With this challenge, I decided to enlist my friend, Teacher Blanca, the DIY gurú, to help me create the theme of our Trunk or Treat: La Llorona.

La Llorona or the weeping woman, is famous in Latino folklore. If you grew up in the Latino culture you may have been scared as a children listening to all the stories and folks who claimed they heard or saw her. As kids you were probably frightened when it was windy and would swear you heard her cries at night. Ahhh, childhood!

So with Blanca’s assistance and advice, I hit the Target dollar bins, Dollar Tree and our local thrift shop. I was on the hunt to reproduce La Llorona.

The morning of Trunk or Treat, I partnered with Chevrolet and received a Chevy Colorado. When it pulled up in Cajun Red, I knew immediately it was going to set the stage for us.

We pulled into our spot in the church parking lot and I set the mood by setting the stereo to Halloween sounds of crying and wind utilizing the Bluetooth pairing 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot (which includes a three-month/3GB data trial), diagonal color touch-screen and 6 speaker system.

I laid out all my supplies and pieces that when into decorating as it was time to started.

Trunk or Treating started and kids dressed in fun costumes went trunk to trunk for candy just as I put up the string lights and final touches.

La Llorona was a hit as she was held securely using 2 of the thirteen standard tie-down locations throughout the bed that were available with movable cargo tie-down rings.

With decorations and kids packed safely back into the truck, all us Trunk or Treaters were reminded to back out slowly and lookout for children. No distracted driving! With that, I put the Chevy Colorado in reverse and was happy to know that it came standard with a Rear Vision Camera which allowed me to be extra safe while maneuvering the truck.

A safe and boo-tiful event. A fun night to remember for all the right reasons: friends, community and fun!

But having an event like this, in an enclosed space, where cars are not moving, was great but it reminded me how scary Halloween night could be if we aren't safe.

So, back to the experts I went.

As a Critical Care RN married to a pediatrician, I know first hand how dangerous Halloween can be. It is rife with safety hazards from littles tripping over costumes to even getting hit by cars.

So it wouldn't be me if I didn't share some safety concerns to help you plan for a night of tick or treating on Halloween night.

As we know, kids will be walking more than usual on Halloween so caution is needed as trick-or-treaters take to the streets.

It's a particularly a dangerous night for accidents involving children.

I chatted with expert, Dr. Richard Kang, Medical Director for the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Richie Pediatric Trauma Center, Northridge Hospital. He said "the keys to a safe outing include some simple planning, staying aware of your surroundings, and following safety tips while out", will help.

He also said: “parents should be creative and think about safety in a way that doesn’t take the fun out of the night."

That means starting with their choice of costumes. They should be able to see and be seen.

You need to make sure it fits properly to keep falls and other hazards at bay.

They should be visible to any traffic and others.

Utilizing flashlights, adding a glow stick or reflective tape to the costume will also help illuminate their costume so they can be seen.

Walk on the sidewalk and be aware of traffic even while using the crosswalk.

Before crossing, make sure the driver sees you and you have their attention before walking out into the intersection.

And Dr. Kang ends with: "we need to always supervise children. We want them to have fun but remain safe doing so."

I was able to share some statistics with Dr. Kang that I learned from Chevrolet during our partnership.

Children are more than twice as likely to be hit by a car and killed on Halloween than on any other day of the year. In 2017, October was ranked No. 2 in motor vehicle deaths by month, with 3,700 deaths. (July is No. 1, with 3,830 deaths.

This is a scary statistic and why:

“At Chevrolet, we want families to stay safe. “ said Suzanne Johansson, Chevrolet Safety Engineer “Halloween is such an exciting time of year for children and parents, but because child pedestrian accidents double during this holiday compared to any other day of the year, we’re providing tips to help keep drivers alert and families safe during their celebrations.”

Take a look at these amazing Halloween safety tip from Chevy:

1.) Drive Scary Slow – Kids are excited, full of sugar and potentially walking in shoes that could cause tripping. Slow down and be prepared to stop for the ghosts, goblins and crossing the street or chasing a piece of their costume in the wind.

2.) Treat Yourself to Car Tech – Chevrolet recommends you never turn off safety alerts, but if you have, turn them back on. Features like rear-view or forward-facing cameras, collision alert sensors and 360 cameras give drivers a better view of what or who is surrounding their vehicles while backing up or just driving down the street.

3.) Avoid Dreadful Distractions – If you are concerned about being tempted to use your phone while driving, take advantage of vehicle storages cubbies that you cannot access while driving to eliminate the temptation and distraction.

4.) Motorists and Masks Don’t Mix – While it may be fun to make fellow motorists laugh, it’s a bad idea to drive while wearing anything that could potentially impede vision like masks, goggles or silly glasses. Place them in the trunk or a convenient storage space to avoid sliding while driving until you reach your location.

5.) Don’t Get Tricked, Always Buckle Up – whether you’re rolling slowly on the street while your kiddos rock the sidewalk or you’re moving a group of superheroes door to door, be a stickler for safety and buckle up every time you’re in motion

With the six airbags I was able to secure Mr.Bones as my littles called him. It was nice toknow the vehicle I was using had dual-stage frontal airbags for driver and front passenger, seat-mounted side-impact airbags for driver and front outboard passenger, head-curtain airbags for front and rear outboard seating position which includes front outboard Passenger Sensing System for frontal passenger airbag.