I can see agreeing to take a neighbor who you trust AND who has his go-bag already packed. But this isn't something you decide to do while you're lugging stuff from your home to the car. This neighbor/friend needs to be preselected and what he/she packs is agreed to and dovetails with your stuff.

The problem I see is any late/last minute packing and triage of gear that causes expensive time delays. All that needs to be decided way ahead of time.

Dagny,
How much stuff can you preposition with the trailer you have in storage to save room in your vehicle?

Very good and well made point, Russ!

Y'all might want to check out "Story of the Day 3" at

www.standeyo.com

It addresses some of the issues.

Excellent point. Truth is it's pretty well stocked except for food.

There's a bike out there, camp stoves, a couple tents, screenroom, hiking boots, backpack, winter clothes, etc.

My priorities for the car would be dog food, water, some clothes, people food.

The car itself is presently pretty well stocked with gear because we camp quite a lot. In fact, the rear seats are out for the season, replaced by two 48-gallon Action-Packers. The gear I normally take camping and don't keep with the trailer is packed and ready to go.

Perhaps I misread. The comments were based on my interpretation of the OP's hypothetical evacuation scenario. The point was that if things were dangerous enough to warrant having someone in the passenger seat literally ride "shotgun," it would likely be too dangerous to travel, especially without a group.

Coincidentally, I just got back from a dog walk and was thinking how it would be preferable for many reasons to caravan with some of my neighbors. If an evacuation were called, the roads will probably clog before I could get my car started.

I'd be surprised if any of my neighbors own guns.

All things considered, most city folk will consider bugging out a last option and will vacillate. Being ready to leave and not hesitating will be key to staying ahead of the wave. So if you do decide to leave with a neighbor/friend, that person needs to know that once you decide to leave, the timeline will be very compressed.

IMO, considering the reality of bugging out of any large metro area, if you can't get out early, you’d better have a Plan B.

Actually, in my case, bugging out is Plan B. The only thing that will get me to Bug-Out is a wildfire and my home being in a mandatory evac area.

For sheer bugout convenience in such a scenario, I would think it far more preferable to have a sturdy on-road/off-road motorcycle, something akin to what Ewan MacGregor used to circuit the globe with. A motorcyle like that can go places 4 wheel vehicles cannot, including the median or the shoulder, or cross country. You don't have the luxury of equipping like you would with a pickup or SUV, but if the objective is to get the heck out of Dodge, then having more gear with you is pretty insignificant if you can't get out. Plus, solicitations for rides are going to be a lot less likely.

Personally, I rather like the BMW R 1200 GS Adventure package. It fits me, and with 105 hp on two wheels, you can get out of Dodge quick, at least till you hit the deer.

Bikes, motorcycles or a really good driver with a SUV and proper tires should have no trouble depending on where one would get on/off the Towpath and how far you wanted to go.
I've seen ambulances and ranger vehicles on much of the towpath.

Don't forget the "Rail trails" and other hiking paths.

Indeed. Many of the two lane rural roads out here have no shoulder, so negotiating traffic might be less than 3 feet side to side clearance, with impassable ditches/dropoffs/obstructions at the edge of the pavement. In those instances, a motorcycle should be able to find clearance unless the lanes become completely obstructed as with a car crash or some such. No means of transport is going to be a sure thing, so it helps to have alternatives.

How about a pickup towing a trailer with two bikes on it? Then if traffic plugs up too much, at least you have a high speed alternative. If it gets too snarled, then foot traffic is almost always a final option.