Chicago Halloween Pedestrian Crashes Hit 108% Above Average in 2025
Like most cities, Chicago hosts many festive events on Halloween and in the weeks surrounding it, including the Spooky Zoo, Navy Pier’s Slightly Spooky Saturday, and the annual Northalsted Halloween Parade, one of the city’s signature events.
On Halloween night, hundreds of thousands of families celebrate by trick-or-treating in one of the city’s many decorated neighborhoods. Adults, meanwhile, may celebrate at house parties, bars, and clubs across the city. With celebrations of all kinds for people of all ages, Halloween brings more pedestrians and drivers onto Chicago’s streets well into the evening.
In a city with over 2.7 million residents, the third-largest city in America, Halloween’s increased activity should encourage drivers to exercise more caution than usual. Higher numbers of vehicles and pedestrians on the road, especially in dark conditions, increase the risk of crashes.
Taxman, Pollock & Bekkerman, LLC partnered with 1Point21 Interactive to analyze five years of Chicago crash data (from 2021-2025) to determine how crash patterns change on Halloween. Our Chicago accident attorneys compared crash counts during each year’s Halloween period, defined as midnight on October 31 through 4 a.m. on November 1, with the average for all other dates that fell on the same day of the week that year.
For example, because Halloween fell on a Friday in 2025, crashes recorded from midnight on Friday through 4 a.m. Saturday were compared with the average for all other Friday-to-Saturday windows in 2025. We examined total crashes, pedestrian-involved crashes, and the ages of pedestrians involved to assess how children may be affected.
Our intention is for this study to raise awareness of increased traffic-safety risks during the holiday and help families stay safe as they celebrate.
Key Findings
- Every Halloween from 2021 through 2025, Chicago had more crashes than average for the corresponding weekday that year.
- For crashes involving pedestrians, the yearly increase is even higher. Pedestrian crashes rose by approximately 62% on average compared to about 17% for all crash types in Chicago. The pedestrian crash increase ranged from about 15% in 2024 to 108% in 2025.
- Nearly a quarter of pedestrians involved in Halloween crashes in Chicago were under 18 years old. They made up a larger share of pedestrians involved in Halloween crashes than in comparable same-weekday crashes.
- Pedestrians ages 3–9 made up a larger share of those involved in crashes on Halloween: 6.5%, compared with 2.9% during comparable same-weekday periods.
- The largest crash increases occurred at 3 and 4 p.m., when Halloween crash averages were roughly 19% and 24% higher than the corresponding weekdays, respectively.
Halloween Crash Trends in Chicago
Because Halloween falls on a different day of the week each year, the average crash count for all other dates that fell on the same weekday was used as a baseline for comparison. The chart below shows the crash count for the Halloween window (midnight on Oct. 31 through 4 a.m. on Nov. 1) compared with the average count for all other dates that fell on the corresponding weekday using the same time window.
Chicago recorded more crashes during the Halloween window than during the average comparable same-weekday period in every year from 2021 through 2025. The increase ranged from 5.6% in 2022 to 24.2% in 2023. In 2023, there were 391 crashes during the Halloween window, compared with an average of 314.9 during the same-weekday period.
Average crashes in Chicago hit a new high in 2025, and so did Halloween crashes (456), which nearly matched the 2023 increase at 23.1%.
The chart below looks at the hour-by-hour distribution of crashes on Halloween compared with corresponding weekdays.
Crash activity during the Halloween window was generally higher than the comparable weekday average, with four exceptions: midnight, 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 5 p.m. The largest increases occurred at 3 and 4 p.m., when Halloween crash averages were 19.4% and 23.6% higher than the comparable averages, respectively.
This time frame may coincide with school dismissal periods and the start of afternoon Halloween activities. Many families may choose to go trick-or-treating around this time as the sun sets earlier in the fall. Due to this spike in crashes, it’s incredibly important to take extra precautions near schools and while traveling to Halloween activities.
Pedestrian Crashes Increase Even More
Across the five years studied, pedestrian-involved crashes increased by an average of 62.2% during the Halloween window, compared with an average 17.6% increase in crashes of all types.
The pedestrian crash increase ranged from 15.2% in 2024 to 107.6% in 2025.
In 2025, there were 21 pedestrian crashes during the Halloween window, compared with 10.1 during the same weekday average — a nearly 108% increase.
Pedestrian crashes resulting in injuries were also more common during the Halloween window. Halloween averaged 12.4 pedestrian-involved injury crashes, compared with 7.9 during comparable same-weekday periods. Fatal pedestrian crashes were rare in both groups. The Halloween average was 0.2 fatal pedestrian crashes, compared with 0.118 during comparable periods.
Pedestrians Involved in Halloween Crashes are Younger
When looking at the age of pedestrians involved in crashes during the Halloween window, nearly a quarter of them (22.6%) were under 18, compared with 14.4% during same-weekday periods.
Children ages 3 to 9 made up 6.5% of pedestrians in Halloween crashes — more than double their 2.9% share on corresponding weekdays.
The mean age of pedestrians involved in crashes was about 34 during the Halloween window, compared with 38 during comparable same-weekday periods.
Where Do Pedestrian Crashes Occur?
Crosswalks were the most common location for pedestrians involved in crashes. During the Halloween period, 44.8% of pedestrians involved in crashes were in crosswalks, and 48.5% were during comparable same-weekday periods.
However, pedestrians were more likely to be in the roadway during the Halloween period. They accounted for 38.8% of pedestrians involved in Halloween crashes, compared with 31.4% during comparable same-weekday periods. This is a difference of 7.4 percentage points — the largest among all locations.
Staying Safe on Halloween
Because Halloween brings more people outdoors after dark, drivers and pedestrians should take extra care to watch for one another. Young children should always be accompanied by an adult, and older trick-or-treaters are encouraged to travel in groups.
With less daylight in the fall, visibility is especially important. Flashlights, glow sticks, and reflective tape or stickers on the front and back of costumes and treat bags can help drivers see pedestrians. Face paint can be used instead of masks to help preserve peripheral vision.
Some neighborhoods do not have sidewalks. When walking along a road, pedestrians should stay as far from traffic as possible, walk facing oncoming vehicles when appropriate, and remain alert to their surroundings.
Whether in a neighborhood or downtown, pedestrians should cross at designated crosswalks or intersections. When possible, travel in well-lit areas, look both ways, and never assume that drivers will see you. Making eye contact with a driver can help confirm that the driver has noticed you.
Drivers should also exercise extra caution given the increase in pedestrian activity. Obey posted speed limits, come to a complete stop at stop signs and red lights, put away the phone, and never drive while impaired.
Together, these steps can help make Halloween safer while preserving the fun of the holiday for families and individuals.
Methodology
We analyzed five years of data from the City of Chicago’s Traffic Crashes dataset, covering 2021–2025. Crashes were counted for a Halloween window running from midnight on October 31st to 4 a.m. on November 1st. Each year’s Halloween was compared with every other date in that year that fell on the same weekday, using the same time frame.