Thanksgiving Safety Tips Every California Family Should Know
Thanksgiving in California hits different — from long coastal drives to packed family gatherings, this holiday blends chaos, love, and a lot of movement. It’s not just a meal… It’s an event. Families crisscross the state, airports overflow, stores buzz with early shoppers, and homes fill with relatives who haven’t seen each other in a while.
But with all the celebration, there’s another reality most families don’t think about: Thanksgiving week is one of the highest-risk times of the year for preventable accidents — especially those caused by negligence.
At RTM Law, we believe safety starts with education. So this year, we’re sharing the most important Thanksgiving safety tips every California family should know — backed by data, grounded in personal injury experience, and written to help your family stay safe.
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Is Thanksgiving The Most Dangerous Holiday In California?
Thanksgiving Day is widely recognized as one of the most dangerous travel holidays in the United States, largely because more people are on the road at the same time than almost any other week of the year. National data shows that the Thanksgiving holiday period — typically Wednesday evening through Sunday — records hundreds of traffic fatalities and tens of thousands of injuries annually.
While holidays like New Year’s Eve may see higher rates of impaired driving, Thanksgiving stands out for its overwhelming surge in long-distance road travel, creating conditions where fatigue, distraction, congestion, and speeding collide.
Across California, this national pattern becomes even more pronounced. Millions of residents drive across counties to visit family, shop, and return home all within a four-day window, putting enormous pressure on already congested roadways.
State enforcement agencies consistently report significant spikes in collisions, DUI arrests, and roadway emergencies – especially on Sunday when families head back home. According to the national crash-rate analyses, there is an increase of roughly 13% in collisions during Thanksgiving week, with the Sunday after Thanksgiving marking the highest-risk day, jumping to nearly 60% higher likelihood than a typical Sunday.
So, what is the most dangerous holiday? Thanksgiving may not officially be the number-one deadliest holiday in the nation every year, but in California, it constantly ranks among the highest-risk periods for negligence-related car accidents.
Common Accidents on Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving brings people together, but it also creates unique safety challenges, both on the road and inside the home. Increased travel, crowded gatherings, and the use of seasonal products, accidents caused by negligence are far more common.
Road & Travel Accidents
Travel is at its peak during Thanksgiving, making road-related incidents the most common source of holiday injuries. Freeways become extremely congested, drivers rush to make it across counties, and many are fatigued after long trips or late-night celebrations. These conditions lead to a high number of rear-end collisions, sideswipes, speeding-related crashes, DUI accidents, and intersection collisions.
California Roads With Higher Thanksgiving Travel Risks
Certain California routes experience high accident activity during Thanksgiving travel:
- I-5 (Los Angeles County, Orange County, Central Valley): One of the busiest freeways in the U.S. Holiday congestion in Santa Ana, Anaheim, and through LA leads to an increase in rear-end, sideswipes, and sudden-braking crashes.
- I-15 (Riverside – San Bernardino – Nevada): A major holiday travel route for families heading to and from Las Vegas. Fatigue and speeding play a major role in a car accident Thanksgiving Day here.
- I-405 (Los Angeles – Orange County): Already known for daily congestion, the Thanksgiving surge magnifies abrupt stops and unsafe merge-related crashes.
- US-101 (LA – Ventura – Central Coast): Popular among travelers and tourists. Distracted or unfamiliar drivers elevate collision risk.
- I-80 (Bay Area – Sacramento – Tahoe): Heavy Thanksgiving ski and snow traffic combined with weather and fatigue makes this corridor especially dangerous.
Thanksgiving Injuries
Thanksgiving gatherings bring together friends, family, children, pets, and guests of all ages, which also means the risk of injuries increases significantly when hosts don’t take responsible steps to keep their property safe. Most Thanksgiving injuries are preventable, and many occur because someone failed to correct a hazard, supervise guests, or provide a safe environment.
Slip and Falls
One of the most common issues on this day of the year is slip and fall accidents, especially when homes and stores become crowded. Wet floors, spilled drinks, cluttered aisles, loose mats, and overcrowded entryways can cause serious falls. Grocery stores and malls experience heavy holiday foot traffic, and if employees don’t clean hazards quickly or place proper warning signs, customers are at risk.
Under California premises liability law, businesses must keep their property reasonably safe — especially during known high-traffic holidays like Thanksgiving.
Burn Injuries
Another frequent Thanksgiving issue is burn injuries, not only from hot serving dishes or heated appliances inside homes, but also from stores using portable heaters or decorative displays. Any time hot objects are placed in crowded areas without supervision or proper barriers, guests — especially children — face unnecessary danger.
Hosts and businesses must take responsible steps to ensure heated or electrical items don’t put guests at risk.
Dog Bites
Homes become noisy, pets become stressed, and unfamiliar guests or excited children may unintentionally provoke an animal. California’s strict liability dog-bite laws mean owners are responsible in most cases — even if the dog has no history of aggression. Failing to secure or supervise pets when guests are present can easily lead to preventable injuries.
Defective Products
Thanksgiving also brings an increase in the use of seasonal products — everything from decorative lighting and portable heaters to folding furniture, travel gear, and electronic devices. When any of these items are poorly designed, improperly manufactured, or sold without proper safety warnings, they can fail unexpectedly and cause serious injuries.
Thanksgiving Safety Tips Every California Family Should Know
Thanksgiving should be a time to gather, relax, and enjoy the holiday — not a day spent dealing with preventable injuries or stressful emergencies. Whether you’re traveling on busy California roads, hosting a dinner at home, visiting someone else’s home, or heading out for holiday shopping, a few practical precautions can make a big difference.
Here are some Thanksgiving Safety tips to follow:
1. Stay Alert on California Roads
- Give yourself more time than usual: Traffic builds from Wednesday afternoon through Sunday night. Rushing increases your chances of rear-end and lane-change crashes.
- Avoid peak risk hours: Late nights and early mornings see more impaired or fatigued drivers. If possible, travel during daylight.
- Watch out for high-risk areas.
- Prepare your vehicle: Check tires, brakes, lights, wipers, and fluids before long trips.
- NEVER drive impaired: DUI crashes increase significantly during Thanksgiving weekend. Use a designated driver, ride-share, or stay overnight if you plan to drive.
- Make yourself visible: If you are a motorcyclist or pedestrian, use reflective gear, stay predictable, and avoid weaving through congested lanes.
2. Prevent Thanksgiving Injuries at Homes, Parks, and Shopping Centers
Whether you’re hosting or visiting someone else’s house, watch for unsafe conditions at homes:
- Ensure walkways, steps, and driveways are well-lit and clutter-free.
- Clean spills immediately to avoid slip-and-fall accidents.
- Keep children away from hot surfaces, heated appliances, or open flames.
- Ensure pets are secured if they become anxious around guests — holiday bites are more common than people realize.
- Watch for wet entrances on the mall, poorly maintained escalators, overcrowded aisles, unstable store displays, and low visibility in parking lots.
3. Avoid Dangerous or Defective Products
- Inspect appliances and seasonal tools like roasters, electric knives, heaters, outdoor decor equipment, and turkey fryers (especially risky if they tip or overheat.
- Check for recalls — kitchen appliances, toys, extension cords, outdoor lights, children’s furniture, and space heaters.
- Avoid counterfeit or low-quality items — fake electronics, cheap cords, and low-grade tools purchased from non-verified sellers can overheat or fail without warning. And never leave the kitchen unattended, let’s avoid cooking fires.
- Keep all packaging and receipts — if a product turns out to be defective and causes an injury, packaging and proof of purchase can become valuable evidence in a liability claim.
Steps To Take If You Are In A Thanksgiving Accident
Even when you do everything right, accidents can still happen — especially during a high-traffic holiday like Thanksgiving. Whether it’s a car crash, a fall at someone’s home, an incident at a store, or an injury caused by a defective product, what you do in the first few minutes and hours can make a major difference in your safety and in protecting your legal rights. Here are the steps every California family should know:
- Stay calm and assess your safety
- Document the scene
- Get medical help immediately
- Collect information from everyone involved
- Preserve all evidence
- Contact a personal injury attorney before speaking to insurance
Enjoy Thanksgiving — We’ll Handle the Rest!
We hope these Thanksgiving safety tips help you and your loved ones enjoy a peaceful, injury-free holiday. Remember that even on a day of celebration, accidents can still happen.
If you or someone close to you is injured over the Thanksgiving weekend due to unsafe conditions, negligent behavior, or a preventable hazard, you deserve support you can trust. At RTM Law, our team is committed to guiding injured Californians with professionalism, clarity, and compassion. We handle the legal complexities, communicate with insurance companies, and work to protect your rights from the very first step.
Contact us for a free consultation — available 24/7. Hablamos Español.
Do you need compassionate support and effective representation?
No fees until we win. Available 24/7.
