While damage at or near the epicenter of a quake will be quite heavy, depending upon its intensity, the ill effects of the quake taper off remarkably as you move away from the epicenter. A distance of fifty miles can make quite a difference in terms of a dinged up infrastructure.

I would get out a map(s) and look at alternative, circuitous routes that would bring me to my objective, all the while listening to news sources to get some idea of where the major damage has occurred.

The long way around may be the short way home.

Of course, trading cars would be quite feasible for me - anyone interested in a 1992 van? only 178,000 easy miles accumulated while driving to soccer practice....