MAYOR PROCLAIMS HALLOWEEN PEDESTRIAN SAFETY DAY

            Mayor Mufi Hannemann today proclaimed October 31, 2007, as Halloween Pedestrian Safety Day to promote the City and County of Honolulu's "Be Safe, Be Seen" campaign to help protect children as they trick-or-treat on Halloween night.

            Surrounded by children in Halloween costumes from Seagull Schools' Early Education Center and junior police officer students from Royal Elementary School, the mayor signed the proclamation in his Honolulu Hale office.

            Mayor Hannemann said, "Oahu trick-or-treaters have experienced no fatal tragedies since the creation of this safety campaign. The stickers are a simple way to keep our children safe as they walk from house to house. I urged parents to use the stickers and for drivers to keep a lookout for the reflected stickers."

            Sponsored each October by the City Department of Transportation Services, the "Be Safe, Be Seen" campaign will distribute 65,000 retro-reflective stickers that children can wear on their clothing, bicycles, shoes or bags to alert drivers to the presence.

            The State Department of Education and the Honolulu Police Department will assist in distributing the stickers and safety brochures to elementary schools and satellite city halls throughout Oahu.

            National studies support findings that wearing these retro-reflective materials and obeying traffic regulations help raise the level of safety for all road users.

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CONTACT:

Bill  Brennan, 527-6928