James,
I want to disagree with anyone who might suggest that during a SHTF event that the highways and byways will suddenly be overcrowded with millions of sheeple trying to get home. I was on the road from work just after the second plane hit the second tower on 9/11. I was pretty convinced that this was an attack as soon as it happened. I had 20 miles in front of me on Highway 270 surrounding Saint Louis, and other highways and it was smooth sailing all the way. Most people were at work by then and while this was going on people were glued to the office television or radio if they could find one.
The sheeple were paralyzed pure and simple.
Any event be it a high profile terror attack, earthquake, EMP, etc is going to leave the public in a state of shock for a minimum of at least an hour maybe 2 or 3. That is when you act. That is when you move. Even if something happens during non-work hours when most people are home like in the evening or on the weekend, you will have at least a good 24-72 hours of shock time where they all stand around and say to themselves, “What just happened. What does this mean? What do we do now? Is this for real?”
Take advantage. Move at the first sign of something going on. I think this fast acting approach will give plenty of people who are already ready to move at a moment’s notice time to get in place at Bug Out Retreats or get to family pick-ups before the sheeple start to stampede. Even in case of EMP you can be 3 hours further down the road before people figure out they are going to actually have to walk home from work or spend the night in place hoping that the magical electricity comes back on in their car somehow.
People are ignorant and stupid in our modern age. Take advantage and move when you see what they don’t and you will be at a better starting point then those who live with the blinders on. – Ready to Move in Saint Louis
James,
I don’t know about the railroad companies out in California, but here in Pennsylvania, the railroad company seems to leave a lot of old railroad spikes and random pieces of metal laying near the tracks on the services road, and sometimes right in the middle of the service roads. One time a friend of mine was driving along a railroad service road in his truck and he got a large slash in his tire from a railroad spike. His flat tire was flat and luckily he had cell service to call me or he would have had a 5 mile hike to the nearest town. That was not life or death, but it could be in a SHTF scenario. Make sure your spare tire is in good condition and throw a tire repair kit and a small compressor in the truck. A good tire plug kit has at least 15 or 20 plugs (I’ve used 12 in a 2″ sidewall gash before, and it worked!), the hole reamer, the tire plug inserting tool, and rubber cement. Small compressors that work, although slowly (1-2 CFM), can be had for cheap and they fit under your seat. The ones that Advance Auto Parts sell are junk (trust me), but I’ve seen a lot of people have good luck with some from Harbor Freight. Don’t just throw it in the truck and assume it works. Test it! Other products like Fix-a-Flat and Green Slime also work as advertised for bead leaks, but not slashes like you would see driving on a railroad service road. Thanks for the blog and God Bless, – Josh in Pennsylvania