ATLANTA -- Whether you're taking children trick-or-treating or simply trying to get home at the end of a long workday, the Georgia Department of Transportation wants you to be safe this Halloween.

GDOT is offering advice for both drivers and pedestrians as the streets fill with young ghosts and goblins this evening.

Drivers are asked to slow down when entering neighborhoods and school zones. Reduce the number of distractions in the car, like phones and music, and take an extra second to look for children on medians and curbs.

GDOT also recommends driving with headlights on; that makes it easier to spot children from far away.

Young trick-or-treaters should look left, right and left again while trying to cross the street. They should also always stay on sidewalks or paths, and should not dart into the road or try to cross it from between parked cars.

It is recommended that children wear reflective tape or apply it to their trick-or-treat bags.

ATLANTA -- Eight year old Ava Bullard is playing with her sisters, riding their bikes on their long country driveway. It is a simple act that defies those who said she would never talk, those who said she wouldn't function in the real world.

Ava was not a typical baby, or toddler.

Her mother Anna says, "You couldn't interact with her."

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Ava did not play with toys. Did not speak. Could not dress herself. Did not interact with her parents or sisters. Slept two hours a night. She was in her own world.

Anna says, "It's like she looked straight through me. She would just...it's like you weren't there, if you were in the room with her."

Anna Bullard took Ava from doctor to doctor for months. One doctor told the family Ava was 'just weird.'

May is National Bike Month, a celebration of cyclists and the pastime they enjoy. Whether you ride a bicycle to work or school, or for exercise, National Bike Month is a great reminder of how to stay safe while biking on the road.

According to the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, in Georgia, as in most states, the bicycle is legally a vehicle, meaning that general traffic laws apply to cyclists. And because bikes share the road with cars and trucks, accidents can happen.

Sean Sue, M.D., an Emergency Medicine physician at  Piedmont Hospital, says the most important safety tip for a cyclist is to always wear a helmet. “Head injuries account for two thirds of all bicycle-related deaths,” he says. “Helmets reduce the risk of head injury by more than 85 percent.”