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California’s Most Dangerous Highway Stretches for Thanksgiving Week Travel

Key Findings

  • Over the five Thanksgiving weeks we measured, Wednesdays had the most crashes (824), and Thanksgiving Day had the fewest (493).
  • I-5 had the most crashes of any highway statewide with 498, with 16 people killed.
  • Thanksgiving week highway deaths fell from 37 in 2021 to 20 in 2025.

Most Dangerous Highway Stretches for Thanksgiving: The Full Rankings

All 68 ranked stretches. Injury and fatal crashes during Thanksgiving week, 2021–2025

Rank Highway Stretch Crashes Injured Killed Score
1 I-5 in Los Angeles County 143 221 2
77.8
2 I-15 in San Bernardino County 101 145 4
67.6
3 I-880 in Alameda County 93 147 4
66.1
4 I-405 in Los Angeles County 123 168 2
65.1
5 I-10 in Los Angeles County 116 167 1
57.8
6 I-5 in San Diego County 100 140 2
55.5
7 I-110 in Los Angeles County 96 141 1
49.2
8 US-101 in Los Angeles County 104 128 1
49.1
9 SR-94 in San Diego County 31 43 6
47.0
10 I-5 in Orange County 73 87 3
46.8
11 SR-78 in San Diego County 37 61 4
40.0
12 US-101 in Santa Clara County 75 106 1
39.0
13 I-605 in Los Angeles County 51 62 3
37.9
14 I-5 in San Joaquin County 49 64 3
37.7
15 I-210 in Los Angeles County 78 119 0
36.1
16 I-215 in Riverside County 51 68 2
33.3
17 I-10 in Riverside County 55 98 1
33.2
18 I-10 in San Bernardino County 73 104 0
32.7
19 SR-60 in Riverside County 38 45 3
32.3
20 SR-4 in Contra Costa County 44 64 2
31.0
21 SR-60 in Los Angeles County 55 75 1
29.7
22 SR-99 in Merced County 35 66 2
29.2
23 I-15 in Riverside County 60 94 0
28.2
24 US-101 in San Francisco County 35 55 2
27.6
25 I-580 in Alameda County 59 85 0
26.6
26 SR-91 in Orange County 48 65 1
26.5
27 SR-22 in Orange County 33 46 2
25.7
28 SR-99 in Kern County 46 61 1
25.5
29 SR-91 in Los Angeles County 42 66 1
25.3
30 I-680 in Contra Costa County 42 62 1
24.7
31 I-8 in San Diego County 41 61 1
24.3
32 I-215 in San Bernardino County 27 39 2
23.3
33 SR-14 in Los Angeles County 49 77 0
23.0
34 I-405 in Orange County 37 56 1
22.6
35 SR-91 in Riverside County 49 73 0
22.4
36 I-80 in Solano County 50 70 0
22.2
37 I-805 in San Diego County 48 71 0
21.9
38 SR-99 in San Joaquin County 33 50 1
20.8
39 US-101 in Santa Barbara County 34 45 1
20.3
40 US-50 in Sacramento County 31 46 1
19.7
41 SR-99 in Stanislaus County 32 44 1
19.7
42 US-101 in San Mateo County 32 42 1
19.3
43 I-80 in Placer County 21 22 2
19.3
44 I-80 in Alameda County 31 39 1
18.7
45 I-15 in San Diego County 42 56 0
18.2
46 SR-99 in Tulare County 27 38 1
17.6
47 SR-55 in Orange County 27 37 1
17.4
48 SR-99 in Sacramento County 37 55 0
16.9
49 I-5 in Kern County 34 59 0
16.8
50 I-5 in Sacramento County 23 34 1
16.0
51 I-105 in Los Angeles County 34 52 0
15.8
52 US-101 in Ventura County 36 48 0
15.6
53 I-5 in Fresno County 21 34 1
15.6
54 I-710 in Los Angeles County 35 48 0
15.4
55 I-280 in Santa Clara County 31 54 0
15.4
56 SR-18 in San Bernardino County 20 34 1
15.3
57 SR-134 in Los Angeles County 29 55 0
15.1
58 US-101 in San Luis Obispo County 33 46 0
14.6
59 SR-180 in Fresno County 20 29 1
14.6
60 SR-57 in Orange County 29 49 0
14.2
61 US-101 in Sonoma County 33 42 0
14.0
62 I-210 in San Bernardino County 32 42 0
13.8
63 SR-74 in Riverside County 26 36 0
11.5
64 US-101 in Marin County 24 37 0
11.2
65 I-880 in Santa Clara County 22 33 0
10.1
66 SR-99 in Fresno County 22 29 0
9.5
67 I-680 in Alameda County 22 28 0
9.4
68 I-80 in Contra Costa County 21 27 0
9.0
Score (0–100) combines crashes, people injured and people killed, weighted equally. Stretches needed at least 20 injury or fatal crashes to be ranked. Source: California Highway Patrol, California Crash Reporting System (CCRS).

WHY THANKSGIVING IS ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS ON THE ROADS

AAA projected a record 81.8 million Americans would travel for Thanksgiving last year. AAA also projected that at least 73 million of those Americans would travel by car.

That means highways in California typically have a lot more traffic during Thanksgiving week than a normal week.

Additionally, Thanksgiving travel notoriously brings drunk driving with it. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Thanksgiving Eve is also known as “Drinksgiving.” That’s because of a historical influx of drunk driving on that date.

NHTSA says in 2024, 164 people died in drunk-driving crashes where one or more drivers had a blood alcohol level of .08 or higher, during the 2024 Thanksgiving holiday (6 p.m. Wednesday – 5:59 a.m. Monday).

HOW WE BUILT THESE RANKINGS

We created this map and rankings by using data from the California Highway Patrol’s California Crash Reporting System (CCRS). We downloaded raw crash files for 2021 to 2025.

For scoring, each stretch of highway was scored on three equally weighted factors:

1

33.3%

Number of injury/fatal crashes

2

33.3%

Number of people injured

3

33.3%

Number of people killed

Each factor was compared with the highest value among ranked stretches, then combined into a score from 0 to 100.

We measured crashes throughout the entire Thanksgiving week, Monday through Sunday. We only counted crashes where at least one person was injured or killed. Property-damage-only crashes were not counted in this study.

Crashes were assigned to a numbered route based on the primary road listed in the crash report. We did not count crashes on roads recorded only by name, frontage roads, or entries where the route number came after a street name or address. Each stretch is one route within one county. A stretch needed at least 20 injury or fatal crashes across five Thanksgiving weeks to be ranked. 68 stretches qualified.

IF YOU’RE INJURED THIS THANKSGIVING

At Maison Law, we represent people injured in car accidents, DUI crashes, pedestrian accidents, and other incidents caused by someone else’s negligence. Our clients don’t pay anything unless we win their case.

Founding attorney Martin Gasparian has recovered millions of dollars for injury victims across California — from major freeway accidents to neighborhood crashes that insurance companies tried to minimize or deny.

If you or someone you love is hurt this Thanksgiving, call us at 866-383-8922 or reach out online. Consultations are free, confidential, and available 24/7. We represent clients in English, Spanish, and multiple other languages.

No fee unless you win.

This report is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Data sources include the California Highway Patrol’s California Crash Reporting System (CCRS), AAA, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).