PHOENIX — Halloween brings out more than ghosts and goblins. When the spooky celebration falls on a weekday – this year it’s on Monday – many commuters adjust their routines, leaving work early to get home for trick-or-treating and parties. The result is often a wicked commute.

Given the potential for a cursed commute, the Arizona Department of Transportation recommends the following:

• If possible, try to make an earlier start in the afternoon to avoid the scariest traffic. Freeway traffic builds between 4-6 p.m. in what has come to be known as the “witching hour.”
• Be patient and recognize that it may take longer to get home. Take your time.
• Don’t let down your guard when you’re nearing home. Remember: superheroes, princesses and too-old-to-be-trick-or-treating teenagers will be crossing streets in your neighborhood and might not be paying attention.

Beginning Saturday morning and lasting through Halloween, ADOT’s overhead message boards statewide will display this safety message:

MUMMY KNOWS BEST
WRAP YOURSELF
IN A SEAT BELT

Failure to wear a seat belt is one of the leading factors in traffic deaths on Arizona’s state highways, county roads and city streets. In 2015, 29 percent of the 895 people killed in vehicle crashes in Arizona weren’t wearing seat belts.