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Here’s a scary thought. Halloween falls on a Friday this year.

That makes North Carolina’s highways particularly deadly, AAA Carolinas says.

The last time Halloween fell on a Friday, in 2003, the state tied for the sixth highest number of traffic fatalities in the nation, the Charlotte-based motor club says. The previous time it happened, in 1977, the state had the fourth highest total of highway deaths.

Both years, seven people died; that compares with a recent average of four deaths when Halloween falls on other days of the week.

AAA officials blame the higher numbers on a mix of adult partygoers behind the wheel and young trick-or-treaters on streets and sidewalks.

“This is a deadly combination,” David E. Parsons, president and CEO of AAA Carolinas, said in a news release. “It is critical for both motorists and pedestrians to take extra caution.”

AAA officials could not provide data on how many of the Tar Heel deaths were motorists and how many were pedestrians.

The club also couldn’t explain why the state’s Halloween fatalities ranked so high.

“We think that North Carolina is high just because there is not very much awareness,” said Carol Gifford, a spokesman for AAA Carolinas. “Our goal is to spread the word this year.”

Contact Donald W. Patterson at 373-7027or don.patterson@news-record.com