[FONT="]To All,
[/FONT]
[FONT="]I am going to ask several questions about a hypothetical SHTF day but first I am going to set up the scenario so that variables are limited.[/FONT]
[FONT="]First I will set up the how of SHTF and your general situation. Next I will try to give a basic description of the events unfolding around you. Finally I will leave it up to you to describe your answers to the questions AND your reasoning behind your answers.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Prelude: A good friend asks you to drive a good distance and deliver something for him/her on Saturday. They would do it but they have two (2) commitments and cannot make it. As you are friends you agree. You are alone. There are no other friends or family with you. It is somewhere between April & November. There will be no significant weather to impede your movement beyond possible normal rain.[/FONT]
[FONT="]You deliver the item and head for home. You are on a major interstate highway either in Indiana or near Indiana. It is Saturday and you left the delivery site at 11AM hoping to be home midday to do some stuff for yourself.[/FONT]
[FONT="]At exactly 12Noon the radio reports a horrible situation. Three mid yield nuclear devices explode simultaniously. One in New York City, one in Washington DC, and the last in Austin, Texas. At 12:15PM the radio reports that Al Quida has made a press release claiming responsibility and that “there is more to follow.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cell phones quickly become overwhelmed and communication is nonexistant, although text messages may get through in time. By 12:30PM there are limited reports of people leaving large cities, looting, and panic. In New York the Governor has declared a State of Emergency. No one has heard from the President as he was in DC and the VP was giving a long planned speech in Austin (Go figure). Cars are driving faster and more erratic and accidents are becoming common.[/FONT]
[FONT="]At 12:35PM while still on the main road your vehicle is hit by another driver who has three teenagers in the car. Your vehicle and theirs are damaged to the point that neither can be driven. Fortunately no one is seriously injured. You think the other driver was trying to text a message while driving. You are able to walk away from your vehicle at exactly 1PM.[/FONT]
[FONT="]You find yourself EXACTLY 100 miles from home at the point of impact. If you have alternative communications and have a ditch area then you are exactly 100 miles from that. Either way you are 100 miles as the crow flies. You have everything you would normally carry in your vehicle and nothing more. For purposes of this discussion if you have alternative transportation in a PU truck it was damaged in the accident and unusable.[/FONT]
[FONT="]During your travel home looting and violence increases. The main roads become jammed with people who have panicked or run out of gas. Many are afraid that their city "will be next." Massive runs on supermarkets have overwhelmed the system. Gas stations either have long lines or are closed. Large cities become much more dangerous as the system struggles to maintain control. Smaller towns are less chaotic but some begin to form militias of their own, maybe with local LE command or without.[/FONT]
[FONT="]#1) How long would it take you to walk 100 miles? Normally this could be done in 2 – 5 days with a clear road. However, people are beginning to panic and loot. The main road isn’t completely safe. How far do you think you travel, presuming that you are being cautious and not just tooling down the road? I would think that in a SHTF situation you would not just stroll down the road but you would be cautious, or am I wrong?[/FONT]
[FONT="]#2) What factors would determine whether you got off of the main road or stayed on it?[/FONT]
[FONT="]#3) When would you sleep, night or day?[/FONT]
[FONT="]#4) What type of area would you look for to sleep at? Would you walk along the road until you found a motel or would you camp?[/FONT]
[FONT="]#5) Would you approach any homes and ask for food, water, or a place to sleep? If you did do you carry anything specifically to trade?[/FONT]
[FONT="]#6) Would you try to work with others who are also trying to get home or would you avoid them? As most are NOT as prepared as you this means you are carrying stuff that they want or need.[/FONT]
[FONT="]#7) If you live in a major city in Indiana (Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Evansville, South Bend, or Gary) do you have a special route in mind to make it home in the urban landscape?[/FONT]
[FONT="]I was wondering how far I could make it in a SHTF situation and I think my goal would be as far as I could on the first day or two and later 10 miles per day, traveling cautiously. However, once I made it to the city limits I think I would be much harder pressed to make it to my home safely.[/FONT]
[FONT="]I think I would also go cross country immediately and hit a county road going in the direction I wanted to go. I would try to go in a direction that would take me away from any major highways and avoid crossing them again.[/FONT]
Your thoughts?
[FONT="]Regards,[/FONT]
[FONT="]Doug[/FONT]
[/FONT]
[FONT="]I am going to ask several questions about a hypothetical SHTF day but first I am going to set up the scenario so that variables are limited.[/FONT]
[FONT="]First I will set up the how of SHTF and your general situation. Next I will try to give a basic description of the events unfolding around you. Finally I will leave it up to you to describe your answers to the questions AND your reasoning behind your answers.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Prelude: A good friend asks you to drive a good distance and deliver something for him/her on Saturday. They would do it but they have two (2) commitments and cannot make it. As you are friends you agree. You are alone. There are no other friends or family with you. It is somewhere between April & November. There will be no significant weather to impede your movement beyond possible normal rain.[/FONT]
[FONT="]You deliver the item and head for home. You are on a major interstate highway either in Indiana or near Indiana. It is Saturday and you left the delivery site at 11AM hoping to be home midday to do some stuff for yourself.[/FONT]
[FONT="]At exactly 12Noon the radio reports a horrible situation. Three mid yield nuclear devices explode simultaniously. One in New York City, one in Washington DC, and the last in Austin, Texas. At 12:15PM the radio reports that Al Quida has made a press release claiming responsibility and that “there is more to follow.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cell phones quickly become overwhelmed and communication is nonexistant, although text messages may get through in time. By 12:30PM there are limited reports of people leaving large cities, looting, and panic. In New York the Governor has declared a State of Emergency. No one has heard from the President as he was in DC and the VP was giving a long planned speech in Austin (Go figure). Cars are driving faster and more erratic and accidents are becoming common.[/FONT]
[FONT="]At 12:35PM while still on the main road your vehicle is hit by another driver who has three teenagers in the car. Your vehicle and theirs are damaged to the point that neither can be driven. Fortunately no one is seriously injured. You think the other driver was trying to text a message while driving. You are able to walk away from your vehicle at exactly 1PM.[/FONT]
[FONT="]You find yourself EXACTLY 100 miles from home at the point of impact. If you have alternative communications and have a ditch area then you are exactly 100 miles from that. Either way you are 100 miles as the crow flies. You have everything you would normally carry in your vehicle and nothing more. For purposes of this discussion if you have alternative transportation in a PU truck it was damaged in the accident and unusable.[/FONT]
[FONT="]During your travel home looting and violence increases. The main roads become jammed with people who have panicked or run out of gas. Many are afraid that their city "will be next." Massive runs on supermarkets have overwhelmed the system. Gas stations either have long lines or are closed. Large cities become much more dangerous as the system struggles to maintain control. Smaller towns are less chaotic but some begin to form militias of their own, maybe with local LE command or without.[/FONT]
[FONT="]#1) How long would it take you to walk 100 miles? Normally this could be done in 2 – 5 days with a clear road. However, people are beginning to panic and loot. The main road isn’t completely safe. How far do you think you travel, presuming that you are being cautious and not just tooling down the road? I would think that in a SHTF situation you would not just stroll down the road but you would be cautious, or am I wrong?[/FONT]
[FONT="]#2) What factors would determine whether you got off of the main road or stayed on it?[/FONT]
[FONT="]#3) When would you sleep, night or day?[/FONT]
[FONT="]#4) What type of area would you look for to sleep at? Would you walk along the road until you found a motel or would you camp?[/FONT]
[FONT="]#5) Would you approach any homes and ask for food, water, or a place to sleep? If you did do you carry anything specifically to trade?[/FONT]
[FONT="]#6) Would you try to work with others who are also trying to get home or would you avoid them? As most are NOT as prepared as you this means you are carrying stuff that they want or need.[/FONT]
[FONT="]#7) If you live in a major city in Indiana (Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Evansville, South Bend, or Gary) do you have a special route in mind to make it home in the urban landscape?[/FONT]
[FONT="]I was wondering how far I could make it in a SHTF situation and I think my goal would be as far as I could on the first day or two and later 10 miles per day, traveling cautiously. However, once I made it to the city limits I think I would be much harder pressed to make it to my home safely.[/FONT]
[FONT="]I think I would also go cross country immediately and hit a county road going in the direction I wanted to go. I would try to go in a direction that would take me away from any major highways and avoid crossing them again.[/FONT]
Your thoughts?
[FONT="]Regards,[/FONT]
[FONT="]Doug[/FONT]
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