I'd forgotten about the small vanity mirror built into sunshades and the rear view mirror. I'll file that away. The woman in the TImes article was injured and had no way of removing the rear view mirror or cutting out the vanity mirror. I always have a small knife on me and the glove box, so I could cut away the car mirror.

http://www.equipped.org/0601rescue.htm<br><br>This is a good article. Having never been to California, I never considered such a thing. <br><br>I have been to Canada though. One thing I never concerned myself too heavily with in Canada, but is a real possibility in the Southeastern US is lack of water. Combine 90 degree heat, 90 % humidity and drought conditions then walk 5 or 10 miles with no water. Im in good shape and it hurts me. <br><br>Honestly though, I think more about plant emergencies than I do breaking down in the middle of nowhere. I have seen a few factories on fire and clouds of chlorine rolling my way. (amongst other nasty things) I see semi's and trains loaded with chemicals I know a little about and sometimes just cringe at what would happen if they wrecked. <br><br>You mentioned Jackson. I was there two weeks ago. I thought I knew what hot and humid meant till I went there. Im happy to be back in Georgia.

I'm currently saving for a SureFire Executive. Not sure which one to buy, though.

A backpack would be better, but I don't have any. I keep the zippered nylon bag inside my nylon briefcase in case something happens at the office, such as a firedrill.<br><br>I also use that case when I'm trying to be inobtrusive. If we go out for a fancy dinner, I can't bring my normal shoulder bag, because I don't want people staring (rude buggers), so I bring that smaller one.

Ah.. depending on the extent of injuries, that could, of course, explain the inability to do almost anything.<br><br>In all recent automobiles that I'm aware of, the rearview mirror in the center is designed to break free pretty easily in a crash to help prevent injuries. In a lot of cases, that means that a good thump with a fist will pop it off.<br><br>Of course, if it's a matter of life and death, I'd happily take the side mirrors if needed. Probably a bit more work.<br><br>People have gotten rescued in autombiles by building fires with gasoline and a tire- huge amounts of black smoke, hard to ignore. That pretty much presupposes that you're anxious to be found by anyone, of course.

I have to say that I've never taken a radio of any kind on a backpacking trip either.<br><br>However, there have been a couple of times on car-camping trips where I was grateful for simple AM/FM radio, mostly for weather forecasts. It's often easy enough to tell that weather is coming, it's harder to guess whether it's going to last for a half day or a half a week.<br><br>Backpacking might be a justification for the tiny Clive Sinclair earbud-AM radio. FM doesn't have the range, though it makes sense in an urban kit.

I'd get the E2 if you're planning on really using it very much. The E1 is very compact and a great little pocket light that produces good light output...but the darn thing heats up very quickly. There's such a little area that you can hold...when your hand moves forward...it'll get warm. The E2 really isn't that much bigger (just longer) but still fits nicely in a pocket or pack. It'll give you a little more handle to hold with more light output to boot. <br><br>The surefire 6P is another option...it's a little bigger, but not by much. <br><br>Kev

>>Of course, I'm baffled by the mere notion of "commuter survival" in general, I'm afraid. Unless you're routinely driving down back-country roads that normally see one car every other month, I don't see how you could realistically get into a survival type situation without doing something incredibly stupid, like taking a short cut through the ravine.<<<br><br>I understand what you’re saying- as long as the infrastructure stays intact, all you genearlly need for a “commuter survival kit” is a credit card. But the infrastructure doesn’t always stay intact.<br><br>I guess the first time I became aware of the vulnerability of the infrastructure was during what they’re now calling the Great Northeast Blackout of 1965, when all of the Northeast and parts of Canada were blacked out for several hours. The whole event was relatively benign, with people pulling together and the worst stories coming from being trapped in elevators, etc. (New York was not nearly as lucky during a repeat performance in 1977), but it acted as a wake-up call to me that I couldn’t really rely on everything in civilization operating smoothly.<br><br>Of course, there have been LOTS of blackouts since… and earthquakes, and tornadoes, and hurricanes, and chemical spills…<br><br>I was in DC in the aftermath of the assassination of Dr. King, when there were tanks in the streets. I was in Maryland for hurricane Agnes. I was in San Francisco when the Rodney King riots happened there, and ended up face-to-face with the rioters at one point. I was in San Francisco again when Oakland caught fire, and the whole city was shrouded in smoke. I experienced one small tremor in California, and one larger one in Connecticut of all places. My parents were caught without power in Connecticut in the ice storm of 1973, and had to live in one room and cook in the fireplace for a week. A few years back an ice storm here caused local power outages in this area that shut down some of the stations in the suburbs, and turned my commute home into a multi-hour ordeal in sub-freezing weather that ended up with having to walk to an artery and flag down a cab to get back to my own vehicle.<br><br>And that’s not even touching the subject of terrorism, which has to be foremost in a lot of people's minds now.<br><br>Pretty much anything that can happen, can happen while you’re at work, or in transit- and any of us that commute are going to be at least a little more exposed, at least a little further away from most of our resources, a little harder to get hold of, a little more vulnerable.<br><br>My current commute is something over 30 miles by best driving route, but I go most of the way by subway to avoid traffic. That leaves me almost 30 miles from my vehicle, with most of a major urban area and a river in between. If going in toward the city is not advisable for whatever reason, the next bridge across that river is considerably further out- making the trip something more than 50 miles. Just for the sake of discussion, if I had to do it on foot, we’re talking days to get home- if nothing and no one is blocking my way back… presuming I don’t want to swim the river.<br><br>There have been several threads here about “urban” survival kits, and the focus is indeed much different than it is for rural/wilderness areas (fewer people see the need for snares and fishhooks, among other things).<br><br>So, if the discussion is not applicable to your lifestyle, or you just don’t feel the need, count yourself lucky. Me, I’ll continue to carry some minimal gear during my commute. <br>

Thanks, HikerDon, for your comments. You comment about the ranger boats is helpful as the reply I received didn't indicated how accesable radio contact or help would be. <br><br>I agree that for a "typical backpacking" trip, a radio would be a luxery item. But my son's known medical condition requires that I "be prepared." He is not a sickly boy by any means, but that's not a indicator of risk, as we have sadly seen recently with the deaths of healthy collage football players. I have seen what happens in an asthma attack firsthand and it's scary. As the lungs start to fill up with fluid, you feel so helpless just watching. You can't tie a splint or apply a bandage or use any other typical first aid technique that you may know. You have to rely upon the medications to take effect and reverse the attack. And you can't always be sure what will trigger it. My son's last bad attack came on a troop sleep-over in the church basement. Apparently, something, perhaps the cleaner they use, triggered an attack. He was hospitalized for two days.<br><br>Yes, adding a radio will increase my pack's weight. And I know that weight is the primary concern when selecting gear. I have heard of dedicated hikers drilling out holes in a plastic spoon handle to reduce weight. Under that type of comparison, a marine radio seems totally out of line.<br><br>However, I cannot take the chance. My son has never had a severe asthma attack in the summer even in remote areas, but if he were to run into something that could trigger an attack, it could be fatal. Adding a 10 oz. (280 gr) radio, such as the Icom M-1V seems trivial if it's truly needed. (BTW, that model also receives the weather frequencies).<br><br>Some folks may be shaking their heads at what may be considered an over protective father. But most floks also don't realize how deadly ashtma can be. It is not the sniffles and runny nose of allergies. A few years ago, one of our corpoate lawyers waas found dead on his doorstep from an asthma attack. He was an intellegent, well read man who knew of his condition. Yet he died within feet of his home, an appartment in the city.<br><br>FYI, The reply also said I could leave my son's electric nebulizer at one of the two main offices where they have electricity. The local ferry circles the island every day, so I'll make note of the schedule and bing it on a special cheat sheet so I'll know possible contact and pull-out points. Also, in a dire emergency, there is helecopter service to Thunder Bay in Canada, weather permitting.<br><br>I'm curious, the email I received seemed short on information, and the NPS web sites make no mention of emergency procedures. Do national parks have SAR and emergency procedures or do they rely upon local agencies?

SureFire has an LED head for these now. I would consider having both styles of bulbs, providing greater options. Pete