Leaving when TSHTF

[The_Shadow]

I've not been able to read all of the posts here yet. Has anybody raised the issue of getting out of Dodge when the SHTF?

Do you have two or more alternate getaway routes? I remember when Rita drew a bead on Houston and I-35 was clogged up tighter than a hair-infested bathtub drain. It is, on the face of things, the best way out of there to points north. But, it took people hours to travel a few miles.

I live in a suburb north of Dallas. Our main route north is clogged at just rush hour! The secondary routes are not much better, being just two-lane roads.

Does one hunker down and wait, or grab the SHTF go bags, guns, ammo and provisions and try as best as one can to fight the traffic?

 

[Len-2A Training]

Welcome!

In MA we can't move (gridlock) from 0630 to 0900 and 1500-1900 five days/week. Unlike parts of TX that I've been in where the land is flat, we can't just drive "sideways" off-road here and expect to get anywhere.

Bottom line, we can't "evacuate" the city on a work-day with nothing unusual happening. G_d forbid there is a crises and everyone wants to get out of Dodge!

I'm planning on hunkering down in place!

I think an Advanced Search here might find a similar thread from a year or two ago. Not 100% positive, but worth a look.

 

[drgrant]

If you want to "leave" you'd better have multiple escape routes, none of
which involve major highways. In MA that is even still somewhat
difficult as invariably even when one uses back roads one must get on a
major route and transit that for a short bit to hit more back roads.

A bigger problem for most of us saps who have to work is that disaster will
strike while we're at work... and we have to deal with getting
home. I'm starting to think one of those folding bicycles might be a
good idea. Think about it- gridlock from people escaping boston, etc... the
only way to avoid it would be to use a bicycle or something else you can
"rip off the system" with. Yeah, it would still take forever to get home, but
a bicycle would still be a hell of a lot faster than walking.

-Mike

 

[Twigg]

Back roads are your friend. If you have four wheel drive you can get a bit more creative. If parts of an escape route can't be readly acessed, like fire roads thru forests then they can be scouted on foot or bike (motorcycle or pedal power).

The folding bicycle idea is a good one. having basic vehicle recovery and pioneering tools might be another idea.

Vehicle recovery: Hi-lift jack, tow strap, winch or come-along

Pioneering tools: Chainsaw, axe, or a saw, shovel, and a pick or mattock if there's room.

Not everyone has the room for a chainsaw or large hand tools but an axe comes in handy for moving / removing trees or for putting logs under tires in muddy areas.

Small shovels / entrenching tools are better than nothing for digging out of snowbanks, sand or mud.

 

[hminsky]

Good to keep a detailed street map in the car. We have a GPS which has a "no major highways" routing option, which I have tried a couple of times, and it actually does work, makes for very scenic travel..

 

[LORD of WAR]

if it got THAT bad an i HAD to leave...sorry but a lil traffic aint gonna stop me...i'd simply use the current tactic they use in iraq...brandish a weapon at the cars in your way...if that doesnt work try a warning shot...still not workin...put one in the cars engine

but thats in an absolute worst case scenario where all hell breaks loose and its every man for himself

 

[coastie]

When that lil traffic is bumper to bumper for 30 miles you had best have a lot of ammo and hope nobody else is armed!! Look at the pictures of the traffic from Rita and think about that tactic and where it will get you. Nowhere!!

If you have to leave, you either have to leave early, like days before a hurricane hits, not hours. If you have no warning, immediately. It is human nature to wait and see. If you can be out the door in 15 minutes you stand a good chance of beating the crowds. Have totes immediately available that you can throw in your car and go if at home. The totes should have bedding clothes, and food for a couple of weeks. Make sure the totes fit in all your vehicles!! Have predesignated spots to meet family if at work. Have plans to pick kids up. Have a place to go. Relatives, friends or even have a couple of phone numbers of hotels that you can call ahead for reservations. For weapons have an ammo can filled with loaded mags etc and only grab your go to guns. Leave the rest.

More than likely any event is going to be a local or regional event. If you get 100 to 200 miles away you are all set.

If you are talking a worldwide nuclear war or other disaster like that than in all honesty most of New England is screwed. There wouldnt be a lot of traffic out of Boston.

 

[Pilgrim]

If you haven't been to New England, you'll be struck by the difference in the terrain as compared to Texas.

Here it's very unusual to be able to see more that a couple hundred yards in any direction due to trees and/or buildings.

Unless you're looking at the ocean or standing on a mountain top, you can't see the horizon. ..NOT like Texas .

This limits your maneuverability considerably.

 

[ZenShooter]

We live on the coast, in Salem. One option we've discussed with neighbors from time to time is a water escape. Unless there's a hurricane making that impossible, apparently a number of Salem and Beverly residents are planning their SHTF escape scenario by boat.

Not a bad idea, really. It's not like the Atlantic is going to end up with bumper to bumper boats and ships, and it doesn't take long to get to points north that may well be out of reach of the event.

 

[drgrant]

if it got THAT bad an i HAD to leave...sorry but a lil traffic aint gonna stop me...i'd simply use the current tactic they use in iraq...brandish a weapon at the cars in your way...if that doesnt work try a warning shot...still not workin...put one in the cars engine

but thats in an absolute worst case scenario where all hell breaks loose and its every man for himself

Yeah, but chances are you won't even be able to pull that
off due to the congestion involved. People ride the breakdown lanes
NOW even without a disaster under traffic duress, I don't see that
changing. It'd be easier to drive on the wrong side of the road
than coerce cars into moving out of your way.... think about it... dense
traffic is like one of those slide puzzles. You cannot fix it without
removing the cars or sliding other ones out of the way.

The other problem is gunfire might induce panic in such a situation and
make it worse... people will abandon vehicles if they hear it (especially
considering they can't drive away from it) and then you end up with a
bunch of cars that aren't moving anywhere.

The trick only works in iraq because there are more people than there
are cars, and the congestion is limited and artificial. I'm sure if some
contractors were stuck in dense traffic in a bad part of Baghdad that
abandoning the vehicle would become a realistic idea as opposed to being
a sitting duck for an RPG attack.

-Mike

 

[drgrant]

When that lil traffic is bumper to bumper for 30 miles you had best have a lot of ammo and hope nobody else is armed!! Look at the pictures of the traffic from Rita and think about that tactic and where it will get you. Nowhere!!

If you have to leave, you either have to leave early, like days before a hurricane hits, not hours. If you have no warning, immediately. It is human nature to wait and see. If you can be out the door in 15 minutes you stand a good chance of beating the crowds. Have totes immediately available that you can throw in your car and go if at home.

I agree... it takes awhile for S to hit the H... and everyone else is
slow. Every minute initially will be a huge advantage.

-Mike

 

[MassMark]

I think about this a lot - even where I live. I'm less worried about terrorist attacks in The Berkshires and more worried about a large-scale attack, (nuclear - emp) or major natural disaster in NYC, (hurricane - earthquake). We all know where the New Yorkers like to go... No offense New Yorkers really. I work urban and live very rural. Getting out of town and heading home is more important to me than getting out of my house, (though I have a plan and multiple routes for that scenario as well).

I have a "GHB" (get home bag) in my car, a BOB (bug out bag) at home and caches around the county. In the event I have to abandon my vehicle and head for the hills on foot, I know where there's little treasures NSEW from my location. From here at the homestead, there's several ways around Pike traffic, (depending on where you're heading) and if all else fails, I have ATV's in the garage.

I have a long way to go as far as preps, but I'm well under way. The issue for me is balance. Drawing a distinction between being paranoid and being prepared. I can't realistically spend my life and my money stockpiling weapons, money, food, gas and ammo. I have a life to live a job to do and a family to support and quite frankly, fun to have... I do more than many, less than many. I'm fairly certain that in a long-term hunker down scenario, I'd do okay. On the road or in the woods, a little less than okay, but I have enough skills to lay odds in my favor under most conditions....

 

[Taipan01]

It would depend on what type of disaster your talking about. Short of a nuclear explosion it would not be reason for me to bug out by something man made. The key for me would be to make it home. I can hole up there comfortably for a good month with the wife and kiddies completly off the grid if nessasary. That in itself should be good for most natural disasters also. If I thought that it would last a month or 2 or 3 or..... then yes I would bug out after about 2-3 days. Why? Because by then most of the unprepared would be out of the way, I would have loaded up the faimly truckster for the long haul by then, made any foreseeable preps, the bad guys, yes that's right, the bad guys would still be sadated raiding their home turf and not moving outwards yet. I would not want to be one though if you tried to bar my way or put me on the defensive. Not sounding off, just stating a simple fact.

 

[coastie]

I tihnk the greatest danger of bugging out after a few days lies not in dealing with attacks from gangs etc. but from govt imposed travel restrictions and road closures. If you know your back roads than you are probably OK but in a travel ban you dont know what could be blocked and what isnt. Arent going to shoot through a roadblock.

 

[AntiqueWeapons.org]

Hopefully it'll never happen & I think various scenarios & every one of them I really am not prepared for other than weapons, ammo, my truck & maybe 2 weeks worth of food tops, and whatever tools I keep in the truck.

 

[N.E. CHARTERS]

Dont worry about you car.

If it gets that bad you will have to take the attitude that you must be willing to walk away from your house, business and car at any time.


My theroy is One if by water, Two if by land and three if by Air. Dont worry about make or model. Just make sure you have gas in the tank.

 

[ckd]

Great question on the bug out vs. in.

As many have pointed out, there are so many variables: event, scale, topography, population centers, access to fuel, weather, etc..., best to be preparred for both. Most people I know in the NE, unless they are truely in the sticks, probably won't be successful in an out unless they go very early. The side roads sound good unless you encounter road blocks of the natural or unnatural kind, are potential choking points. Better to sustain and defend on your turf not someone elses.

A review of what did happen in local and national disaster should be instructive, and one probably should make an honest assesment as to their strengths and weaknesses, working to shore up as needed. Most people can't handle a simple snow storm or power outage. I'm a fan of caravans if bugging out.