What Would You Do in An Emergency Situation You Would Not Otherwise Do

A couple of years ago I was with a small group around the table and I don't remember why but we got on the topic of what we would do if a nuclear bomb when off, assuming we survived the initial blast.

Because I sometimes take the bus, I used a scenario in which I am on the 278 heading South and a bomb goes off at the DFW Airport. The bus driver, now only looking out him or herself and family, drives to their house so he or she and family can get out of Dallas. The bus is left running and no one has taken charge of the situation. Though I have never driven anything bigger than a pickup, and a city buss is a Class B vehicle, I will at least give it a try. I have watched on more than one occasion how the bus driver operates the vehicle. The steering wheal, accelerator and break are in the usual places and the bus uses a push-button transmission. I will ask if anyone needs to be dropped of near by so they can get to their family and their vehicle. I will drive to the end of the line which is a bus station. Anyone who wishes to remain on the buss is welcome to join me. I will drive to my church, twenty-five miles away from the blast, where hopefully people are there so I can find out if there is a plan. I would also hope this particular bus uses diesel rather than LNG so we can put fuel in the tank if we have a plan to go somewhere.

Jeanette Isabelle

Remember what the lines of traffic were like heading north from the Gulf ahead of a bad hurricane? That's what you would be facing. You wouldn't be going anywhere fast.

Grabbing the bus would be do-able, but what would you do about the people who jumped aboard and wanted to go somewhere else?

Sue

JeanetteIsabelle, how large is this hypothetical bomb at DFW? Large enough to scare your bus driver (into abandoning his bus and probably his job), but is there some sort of radiological or other risk from the explosion? Most bomb blasts have a perimeter, even a dirty bomb is relatively low risk (low lethality) anywhere except in direct exposure to a plume of radioactive material. It sounds like your driver panicked, but does your scenario require that you do so too?

Get on the radio to dispatch, tell them where you are, and that passengers are on the bus awaiting assistance (getting home on their regular routes). In most circumstances, I would expect a new driver to be dispatched and at your location within a half hour. Its not sexy or exciting, but are we talking 99% of scenarios, or the 1% EOTWAWKI?

I do agree, almost anyone can drive a bus (in a mostly straight line), the question is whether you really need to - without more details, it sounds like you're compounding the bad decision by the ex-bus driver with one of your own. Theft, inexperienced driver, good samaritin, whatever you call it - you've converted the bus into a bug out vehicle, and its not your own.

I will admit I do not know much about nuclear bombs but I do know that there are many factors and not everyone would agree so I used what I believed was the worst case scenario of twenty-five miles. Even if I survive the initial blast and can put twenty-five miles between myself and the center, am I still safe?

Of course it does not have to be a nuclear bomb since that is not what I wanted to discuss in this thread. It could be anything that would trigger wide-scale chaos and cause people to flee the city, the 1% that you mentioned.

You are right. The first thing I would need to do is to get on the radio and I forgot to include that in my initial post. Obviously communications channels still work. Otherwise, the bus driver would not have known that there is a reason to grab the family and get out of town now.

It is the end of the world as we know it, at least for the city, what would we do in such a dire situation that we would not otherwise do?

Getting back to my bus scenario, the driver has abandoned the bus. I get on the radio but I can't get a hold of anyone or if I do, there is nothing they could do. I believe I have a justifiable cause to finish the route. I get to the end of the line which is a bus station. At this point I have a decision to make: Do I leave the bus and take my car home or do I take the bus which can hold more people and go further on a tank of fuel? If I decide to take the bus and the risk of abandoning my car, any passenger who wishes to join me is welcome to do so. I make at least two stops, perhaps more, before I leave town.

Jeanette Isabelle

There are twelve major routes out of town. Under the circumstances I have mentioned, I believe the safest and the less-congested route may be South on U.S. 67.

If different passengers wish to go in different directions, which there is a high probability of that, the place to discuss that is at the bus station. Here people, including myself, can decide to remain on the bus or leave. I will present my case for why U.S. 67 would be in the best interest for everyone. If I get a sense that there is enough people who have ideas that are not in the best interest for everyone, I still have my car because we have not left the bus station.

Jeanette Isabelle

You're in Panic City and expecting cool, level-headed discussion?

Few people know much about nuclear bombs, really, and only know that they want to get as far away from one as possible.

If someone insisted on a route I believe would be unsafe or too congested, I would tell him he could have the bus. He just made a difficult decision easy. The safety of everyone still on the bus is now on him. I'm getting myself out in my car.

Jeanette Isabelle

If you are where fallout is dropping; that plan is suicide. Get out of the open and ideally into a cellar. Forget going anywhere.
qjs

As I said, it does not have to be a nuclear bomb. The point is, what would we do in an emergency we would not otherwise do?

Since you brought up the fallout, how far from the blast site does it go?

Jeanette Isabelle

Your proposition is extremely hypothetical. Different "emergencies" require different reactions. Indeed, what is perceived as an emergency for one person is just routine for another.

I would hope that any of us would be flexible enough in our thinking to recognize what extraordinary measures might be necessary and then carry them out - performing major surgery, walking a tightrope, playing the cello, being nice to the neighbors, - you name it.