I would have said that, too, until the power suddenly went off in hot summer and I had to get my husband out. I was astonished when we got on the freeway in pitch dark about an hour after power went out. As far as I could see, the freeway was jammed and that is flat ground and a straight highway so I could see a far distance.
To me, the whole world was on that highway getting out of Dodge. I would not have believed that could happen so fast until I saw it and was in it. We had to stay in that about 10/15 miles until we got to a farm to market road going west. I was mighty glad to get off that freeway.
Marcella, I completely understand that a local or regional catastrophe or interruption of utilities would result in this sort of instant mass-bug out and resulting traffic jam. Luckily I can learn from your experience there.
I was saying that I don’t see why people would get on the road to drive nowhere in the event of a financial collapse or some other national, non-weather related event, which is what preppers are prepping for if they’re gathering years of supplies and building a bunker.
It seems to me there is a disconnect. If there is some event big enough to get everyone on the roads trying to get out, and this traffic will impede your progress to your bug out location, chances are you will be with them trying to get much farther away, too, because of the severity of the situation and environmental danger. If, however, there is a situation that will require years of self-sufficiency and self-defense, you will have warning signs and time to get there. That sort of thing doesn’t happen in seconds like a regional disaster could. I guess I’m saying complete societal and governmental collapse will take a while, and people won’t flee because every community would be in the same sinking boat.