If you’re heading to a Halloween party soon, State Police want you to turn the keys over to someone else. As our Elyse Mickalonis explains, troopers want drivers to be extra careful in neighborhoods this Halloween and even if you’re not drinking, that means paying extra attention to your surroundings.

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NEW YORK STATE -- State Police are warning drivers to keep their eyes out for ghosts and other monsters this Halloween.

"When you have a lot of children in dark costumes in the streets, they’re not next going to be crossing intersections,” Sgt. Daniel C. Guilfoyle, NYSP Troop C. “They’ll be darting out in front of cars you have to use extreme caution."

They also have a reminder for party-goers who may have a few drinks.

"You have to plan ahead, you have to have a designated driver, don’t be ashamed to take a cab. You don’t know what’s going to happen. One drink can impair your motor skills,” said Guilfoyle.

Police around the state are cracking down on DWI. Officers and STOP DWI in Broome County even received a federal grant that helps pay for some of the costs to crackdown on the crime.

"There’s a lot of kids out,” said Chris Marion, Broome County Stop DWI Coordinator. “We need to make sure we keep any impaired drivers off the road when kids are walking around the street.”

State Police say even if you’re not drinking this Halloween, there are other dangerous drivers need to watch out for when driving.

"With all the leaves on the ground and especially with the weather we’re having right now where it’s raining, the roads become even slicker, I’m sure a lot of people have experienced it in their own driveway, if they have any kind of incline or decline, sliding on the leaves,” said Guilfoyle. “Just slow down, a few extra minutes could save someone’s life."

Troopers say parents need to keep children together and away from roads.
Children should be dressed in bright colors or carry something like a flashlight that will make them visible to a driver.

Last weekend, 32 officers from seven different police agencies in Broome County stopped more than 1,800 cars this weekend. They issued four tickets for DWI, 44 vehicle and traffic citations and seven criminal charges.