Happy Wednesday! In this week's Big I Buzz we are discussing Thanksgiving safety tips, the states with the worst drivers and the rise in U.S. retail sales. 

Thanksgiving Safety Tips

With Thanksgiving a week away, it's the perfect time to review some basic Thanksgiving safety tips. Be sure to share these with your clients. 

According to the National Fire Prevention Association, "Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires with more than three times the daily average for such incidents. Christmas Day and Christmas Eve ranked second and third, with both having nearly twice the daily average."

Unattended cooking is the number one reason for cooking fires and fire deaths on Thanksgiving so make sure to follow these Thanksgiving safety tips: 

• Keep an eye on the food and the stove throughout the day. 

• Keep kids away from the stove, hot food and liquids. 

• Keep electric cords from an electric knife, coffee maker, plate warmer or mixer from dangling off the counter where a child could reach them. 

• Make sure that your smoke alarms are working and test the prior to Thanksgiving. 

• If you choose to deep fry a turkey, the location is important. You should fry a turkey outside of the house in an open area away from buildings and other nearby items. 

The Worst Drivers in the U.S. Live in These 10 States

QuoteWizard has studied more than 2 million insurance quotes from all 50 states to determine which states in the U.S. have the worst drivers. Surprisingly, Illinois evaded the top 10 list from QuoteWizard. Here's what they found: 

10. Wisconsin

9. Tennessee

8. New Jersey

7. Idaho

6. Utah

5. Alaska

4. California

3. Virginia

2. North Dakota

1. Iowa

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states that, "Roughly three out of five drivers in the U.S. completed some type of driver's education before securing their license." Read more about the QuoteWizard study here. 

Retail Sales Rose by 1.7% in October Despite High Inflation

Consumers have accelerated their level of spending in October, even with high inflation. The measure of how much consumers spent on goods ranging across categories from autos to sporting goods and food and gas, increased 1.7% for October, compared with 0.8% the previous month, according to the Commerce Department. They reported that the price hike on goods jumped at their fastest pace since the 1990s. 

According to CNBC, "Online shopping posted the biggest relative gain for the month, rising 4% and good for a 10.2% gain from a year ago. Soaring prices at the pump pushed gasoline sales up 3.9% in October. Year over year, sales increases at stations have surged 46.8%." Read more here. 

For more news, check out the Action news section of our weekly e-newsletter, Big I Buzz. If you aren’t subscribed, click here to add your email to our emailing list. We hope that everyone has a great rest of their week!