Say there's been a major earthquake and you want to get home to your family ASAP, about 80 miles away.

You were driving on the Interstate at the time and the overpass ahead of you collapsed, totally blocking the road.

The overpass isn't one with onramps and offramps.

There aren't many routes from where you are to where you want to go. There's a medium-sized river ahead of you, and the Interstate has the only bridge over it for quite a ways. If you go back to the last offramp, there are still no guarantees that you will be able to get around the fallen trees, buildings, debris, downed power lines, etc. The Interstate is your main chance for use of a vehicle, otherwise you'll be on foot.

Then you hear a shout and there's a man standing on top of the pile of concrete rubble in front of you. You want to go south. He wants to go north.

You're thinking that by sticking to the freeway and driving up the offramps and back down the onramps (where available), you might be able to get nearly home, or at least closer, before you had to continue on foot.

Aftershocks are continuing.

You're driving a 5-year-old Toyota.

Would you trade cars with him and take your chances that you could get through?

What if you were driving your new Mercedes?

Sue