Vehicle Bugout -Traffic Lights - MIRT?

You need to Bug out quickly with a vehicle and everyone has the same idea and your stuck behind traffic lights, which can seriously delay your bugout time (increased time means smaller bugout radius before TSHTF). A MIRT (Mobile InfraRed Transmitter) can be used to turn the lights from red to green.

A very low cost IR emitter can be purchased such as the one here;

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12625

It would seem that a homebrew modification can be made reasonably easy to modulate the IR beam to act as a MIRT and be disguised as a simple flashlight i.e. swapped out with another dropin into a flashlight like a Surefire 6P.

BTW (apparently it is highly illegal to use such a device, but the consequences of not bugging out in time may well be many times worse than getting caught using such a device)

Any thoughts!

It IS very illegal. I'm not sure how they catch you if it's IR based though. I imagine it would show up on the camera if a police cruiser were so equipped.

besides being illegal they have caught on to this already so while a simple IR signal could change the lights a few years ago when they were first introduced those have all been phased out. Someone is trying to get rid of all their old stock.

WRT bugging out in traffic. 9/11/01 I had to get into downtown and pick my wife up as we carpooled. The law firm she worked for didn't release the staff until all the lawyers were safely out of the building so she was one of the last people to leave which put us behind a lot of the traffic. Changing the lights won't do any good as yuor still going to be stuck in the intersections because the previous cars won't have moved forward yet. We sat thought many light changes at every intersection because there was no where to move to.

This thread should be deleted (and I hope it is), but in the event it isn't, why do you think your life is more valuable than everyone else's?

It may be illegal, and I don't have one, but to answer your question why I think MY life is worth more than someone elses? Because it's MINE

And Eugene - I hope ALL the staff (and I mean ALL) gave notice on 9/12

A) Illegal
B) The MIRT devices are now serialized so they send a coded series of pulses assigned to a specific agency. The older "dumb flashers" are not in use.

I also ponder the "bugging out" concept as being either of possible or necessary. Perhaps this is the result of my regular commute to NYC, an event that, under optimal conditions of dry pavement, no sun glare, the right phase of the moon and NASCAR-level driving skills on the part of all concerned takes 1.5 hours, and, if like the other day, you involve any of rain, wind, sun glare and mobile phone use, takes 3.5 hours.

In fact, a few weeks ago, I drove in to NYC with my family for a visit to my office and downtown NY.

Here's a Google Map showing the trip from 6th Avenue to the intersection of I-78 and the New Jersey Turnpike. Note that Google claims that this is a 23 minute trip. Combine a holiday weekend with an accident on I95, and the trip you see on the map took exactly 3 Hours, 30 Minutes. I happen to know this I wondered how long it would take to get out, and I have this hand timer in my Jeep, which I set to zero minutes when we rolled out of the parking lot.

So...that's just a casual drive out of the city, nothing to worry about.
13.7 miles. 3.5 Hours.
3.9 Miles per hour, slightly faster than a walk, certainly much slower than a bike ride.
MIRT? I think a bike and a trailer would be the most efficient way to go if I lived in the city. Of course, that's assuming your heart won't explode if you have to pedal more than 5 miles....

Hi kc2ixe,

I didn't say "someone" else's, I said "everyone" else's, not that I think it should make much of a difference. It sounds like he wants to cut to the head of the survival line. Not necessarily a good way to insure your survival, and in NYC traffic on a regular weekday, this trick wouldn't make much of a difference, let alone during an emergency.

Thanks for the virtual trip to New York Martin; makes me very happy I live where I do and therefore do not have to deal with all that.

Mike

Why take the chance that the family that crosses your path at the intersection won't run the light?

Go ahead and shoot them all in the head, proceed on your way and forgo the gadgetry.

/sarcasm

Seriously, this thread should be tossed. If your talking about a gun or a knife those can clearly be used as defensive weapons.

This idea is offensive.

As a matter of fact, while we're talking about ways of ensuring our survival, let's talk about the best cuts of meat a potential co-survivor could provide in an emergency and the best way to gut and dress a human.

What no mention of seasoning?

And if there was ever a reason to have a pop-up, roof mounted machine gun, this is it. I wonder who upgrades those ubiquitous black customized Suburbans parked all around Wall St. Every soccer mom should have one. (If you haven't seen them, you won't know what I'm talking about.)

Anyway, from Doug's message, it looks like threads such as this one will be tolerated...

Wow. This one is spiraling out of control fast. Good thing Am_Fear_Liath_Mor is well initiated and not a newguy or we'd have scared him off.

Well, in NYC, he can have all the MIRT he wants - won't do any good, as the traffic lights don't have MIRT sensors....

I think leaving this firm would not be able to occur fast enough. In my firm, the lawyers stayed and made sure the staff had a means to get someplace safely, mostly home, for that night. Before that two of us had gone out to get lunch for everyone, and we did try to keep people there until we knew a means of transport for them to get home, or to someone else's home at which they would be welcome, was assured.

Problem was she didn't know what happened. There were rumors going around of buildings being blown up and people being evacuated and the staff started calling their managers who said there was no ok to evacuate. It wasn't until later we found out that the staff were held until the lawyers were evacuated.
So from then on I've had a distrust of the people in charge, unless someone is a LEO with the ability to arrest me then I'm not following orders, I'll ignore all the security personal if I think I know a better way.

I agree!





But my life is more valuable to me then others lives are. But at the same time I know their life is valuable to them then mine is to them. One would hope we (all of us) would not do things that would put others life in danger of harm or death because we don’t value others lives.


It’s probably not a super critical thing to wait a few min for a light to change.

Back in 1979 - 1981, I got around fantastically on a 10 speed bike. Having a car in the city was a pain in the butt to me. My car stayed parked on (St. George) Staten Island unless I was going grocery shopping. Even on (St. George) Staten Island, everything but the grocery store was within easy walking range.

If I lived in any of the other 4 boroughs of NYC, I would be counting on either a bike (w/a trailer), a boat, or both, as a Bug Out Vehicle.

All the ways out of the city will be jammed up against anything bigger than a pedaled or motor bike.

The waterways will be fully accessible if you own a boat. If the boat has a cabin, you've a motel room with you as well. Bicycles can be stowed on such a sized boat and taken with you as well.

I think the difficulties of getting out of NYC illustrate the importance of being ready to move NOW. I don't want to live out of my BOB and hope I never need to do so, but it's there, ready right now, and I can leave and count of it for a few days. Being ready to move allows you to do it, right now, not wait and pack.

If you can do it carrying your BOB, that allows you to be more flexible in your choice of transportation. If need be, I am prepared to grab any form of mass transit that will take me out of NYC and immediate danger, or huff it. Huffing it maybe slower, but it can work. Jumping on a subway and then walking might be an option.

In addition, you need some idea about where you can go. What are the likely disasters? What risks does each present? What are your options for a safe haven? Once you have that figured out, think about how can you get to your possible safe havens. A car and metro-north railroad are great options for me, depending on timing. If everyone is leaving or wants to leave, I know the car is not as good an option. Metro-north should be a good option. If it is not, the subway, Amtrak and PATH trains become things I consider. Bugging in is always an option.

Another option in the NYC Evacuation Plan is to load 6000 persons on each ferry and then they run to Albany, NY via the Hudson River.

They are to then return to NYC and pick up another load for another run.

Problem: Unless some major changes have been made, there isn't any facilities in Albany, NY to care for NYC's population. Albany's big advantage, as a destination may be limited but there are many roads out of Albany to the rest of the country.

It occurs to me more clearly why this thread sooo pisses me off.

This is not a website about survival of the fittest or survival of the cruelest or survival of the best-armed.

It is a website about personal responsibility and preparing in advance for unfortunate but foreseeable situations. Many people here volunteer their time and risk their lives helping others in various disasters. If safety were my only goal, I'd go hole up in a cave somewhere.

For someone to post a question essentially asking, "how do I screw everyone else to save myself?" runs counter to every decent impulse and what many of us believe in. Sorry if I sound like a preacher, but this post reminds me of that clown who wanted to run around in the woods and didn't care that SAR personnel might risk their lives to save him. Why was his soul-quest more important than their lives? I don't see the difference here.

Agree -- fortunately, as martinfocazio mentioned, "the MIRT devices are now serialized" so the issue is moot. Then again, Am_Fear_Liath_Mor is a Brit IIRC and they may still be using an uncoded/unserialized system.

Still, it's just wrong. I would hope that folks who frequent this site would be better prepared and leave early enough that an MIRT would be unnecessary.

Thread Hijack Alert!!!






Not that this has anything to do with bugging out of New York City. It’s just an interesting story on how one guy dealt with a job change and the high priceed realestate in NYC.










A Rent-Free Place, if You Can Find a Spot to Park

http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/MPCHSCi9ygh...m%20Archive.htm


By COREY KILGANNON
Published: May 8, 2004, Saturday
Let other people moan and groan about sky-high rents and real estate in New York City. Jimmy Hines, 50, has found a solution: living rent-free in an R.V.
''It's my apartment on wheels,'' he said, leaning back this week in his faded 27-foot Gulfstream Sun Sport camper that was sitting on a fairly busy Queens street, wedged next to the curb in a line of parked cars.
Last fall, Mr. Hines gave notice on the Queens apartment he was renting and bought a camper with his savings. It is his sixth month living curbside in the camper, and he swears he will never have a landlord again.
Mr. Hines is no skylarking eccentric looking to prove a point about human self-sufficiency. He is rather a man pushed to an extreme situation by extreme circumstances: the New York City housing market.
He parked the rig on a busy stretch of Main Street south of the Long Island Expressway, on the edge of a commercial strip in an Orthodox section of Kew Gardens Hills, where streets are lined with kosher food shops and boxy brick houses.
Stepping out his front door to the sidewalk, he faces a cemetery. To the right is a bus stop and to the left a gas station. In accordance with city parking regulations, he moves the vehicle at 7 a.m. on Mondays for one half-hour, for street cleaning.
Mr. Hines said he was paying $900 a month for an apartment on Kissena Boulevard. He had recently lost his job as a vending machine repairman and was receiving a $150 weekly unemployment check.
''I started really thinking about what they're getting for an apartment in the city these days and I figured: 'Why should I keep paying rent? It's crazy,' '' he said.
So Mr. Hines took most of his savings and bought the 1987 Sun Sport for $6,000. He began living in camper in December. Rather than ramble to less expensive areas, Mr. Hines wanted to stay in Queens, where he was born and raised and still near his friends.
''It was the wisest thing to do, considering my conditions,'' he said, stretching out in the camper on a smallish bed that barely accommodates his 6-foot frame.
The place rivals some Manhattan studio apartments. Mr. Hines, who is single, keeps the place like a typical bachelor pad. There are dishes in the sink, overflowing ashtrays and a picture of his first hot rod. Traffic whooshes by, several feet from his window. He keeps his shades down for privacy.
''Don't mind the place, it's a bit of a mess,'' he said, showing a visitor around on Thursday. The inside of the R.V. has shag carpet, simulated wood paneling and floral-patterned wallpaper. There is a comfortable couch, and some swivel seats next to a smallish table. In the rear, past the bathroom, refrigerator and closets, is a small bedroom with twin beds.
His kitchen console includes a four-range stove, oven and refrigerator, all powered by propane. A gas-powered generator provides electricity and heat. Mr. Hines also keeps perishables in a plastic cooler, replenished daily with store-bought ice.
His portable toilet deposits the waste in plastic bags, which he puts in street trash cans. For water, he fills up large jugs at a gas station. Without a water hookup, he takes showers at a friend's or at the gym at Queens College. His mail is sent to a friend's house.
After paying $500 a year for auto insurance, camper living is incredibly inexpensive, Mr. Hines said. Except for extreme hot or cold weather, he pays about $10 a week for propane, for which he must drive the camper to Nassau County for refills. He pays $25 a week in gasoline for the generator.
He spends $7 a day on cigarettes, $4 on coffee and the rest on food.
''I make a mean chicken cordon bleu in that oven,'' he said. ''I don't even have an excuse to eat out.''
He has a 9-inch color television with a built-in DVD player for movie rentals. He is set to buy a satellite dish for more channels.
''It's got everything my apartment had, except space,'' he said. ''But who has a lot of space in New York?''
He holds regular poker games with his friends and has even taken a date back to the camper.
''The guys like coming here to get away from their old ladies,'' he said, adding that they debate what is crazier: living as an urban camper, or a lifetime of indentured servitude to a mortgage?
''A lot of my friends have kids and bills and they're all bald,'' Mr. Hines said. ''Me, I'm not living large, but life is still good. I'm living on my own terms. I have an apartment on wheels. I can pick up and go whenever and wherever I want.''
Mr. Hines grew up in Flushing. His camper is parked near John Bowne High School, which he attended. Mr. Hines calls himself ''a product of the 60's'' and wears his hair in a ponytail, his head wrapped in an American flag bandanna.
The high cost of housing has forced people in Manhattan to go home to the Midwest and other locales, and some with fewer resources go homeless. But for a man from Queens with meager means and a few friends, living in camper just made sense.
There is a stream of people on the sidewalk who pass his camper and another, larger R.V. that Mr. Hines said was owned and parked nearby by a local homeowner. But few take notice, even when Mr. Hines is standing in his doorway sipping his coffee.
No one has tried to intrude on his domain, he said. A police officer did drop by a week ago, he said, to say that there had been a complaint about the noise from the generator, but Mr. Hines said he was not bothered.
''I think he just wanted to check me out,'' said Mr. Hines, who says his living situation is totally legal.
Is it? A half-dozen city agencies could not answer the question. A spokeswoman for the Department of Buildings said it had no jurisdiction. (''It's not hooked up to any utilities, so it doesn't seem like a dwelling.'')
But Keith Kalb, a spokesman for the city's Department of Transportation, said that traffic rules prohibit keeping boat trailers, mobile homes and mobile medical diagnostic vehicles on city streets for more than 24 hours at a time, although the regulations are usually enforced only in response to complaints.
Several merchants in the area said Mr. Hines had done very little to attract attention in the past five months, so they gave little thought to why the camper was even there.
David Fisher, 79, a retired auditor who lives nearby, walked by the camper on Thursday. He did a double-take at Mr. Hines in the doorway.
''I see him here all the time, and I wondered if it's legal to live in that thing,'' Mr. Fisher said. ''It takes up parking space and is a bit of an eyesore, but if the man needs it, I guess it's necessary.''
He added: ''It's a unique solution. I wish him luck.''
Published: 05 - 08 - 2004 , Late Edition - Final , Section A , Column 3 , Page 1

Hi Russ,



Perhaps I should have added that I would not use such a device because firstly there are no traffic lights on the bugout route where I live and secondly if there were any, I know that it would cause problems on other parts of the road transport network (especially for the emergency services).



Some lives are deemed to be more important than others. This is a view which is especially prevalent by those who create and enforce the rules. This is a sad but true fact of life. You won't see the President of the United States of America, the British Prime Minister or the Queen of England bugging out on a bicycle. (well not in any of the Hollywood disaster movies I've ever seen). Would you pose the same question to these folks if you are stuck in a traffic jam in an emergency and the motorcade rolls by?

BTW I whole heartedly agree with the sentiment that everyones life should be regarded equally. The reality I'm afraid is somewhat different, as indicated by the New York lawyer story and by the situation during Katrina debacle.

It can sometimes be a fine line preserving our own necks without impacting on the ability for others to survive. Sometimes we can even help others. But when push comes to shove it best not to be in a middle of the crowd. New York Lawyers aren't dumb. Thats why they get paid so much for what they do.

Perhaps the phrase 'Better Judged by Twelve Than Carried by Six' summed up their mindset. The reality at the end of the day was that they weren't even put in the dock.

Altruism

I think that everyone needs to pause a moment and think - it's just a scenario he's running through in his head.

You think about not only yourself first, but your family first - more than yourself even.

Here. I'll lighten it up a bit with a true story about how an easygoing and gentle Dad can be turned into a predator in an instant.

My son was about 3 years old, and we were at some carnival. There was a moon bounce and he was in there with "the big boys" (7 and 8 year olds).

Well, he was bouncing along and got bopped on the head hard by some kid who collided with him as he fell. The big boys didn't notice the crying 3 year old, but I did. I started to go into the bounce to get my son and the 18 year old guy at the door blocked me and said, "You can't go in there!" and all I said was, "Why don't you try to stop me?"

At that moment, if that kid had so much as thought about preventing me from getting to my son, I know, just by the feeling I still remember from that day 5 years ago, that I was ready, willing and more than able to physically destroy that punk, and I would have done it without so much as a thought.

Fortunately, I was able to - momentarily - give fair warning, and the kid instantly stood down.

I remember that feeling vividly and I think about it from time to time if I worry about my family and their safety. I think that the other Dads out there - guys like me who don't get violent, who don't have a history of fights or anything like that - can turn into fierce creatures in an instant.

So, to the point of the MIRT idea, which I think we can all agree is a Bad Idea, if you take it as a view towards the "do what it takes to protect my family" perspective, it's a plausible line of reasoning.

It's the ability to go a little further, to go beyond the initial reaction to the situation and to get to the next step that defines rationality and reason.

In my case, hitting the punk the instant he stepped between me and my kid might have been expedient, but it took just as long to warn him and have me pass than it would have to bloody his face. The net effect was that I got to my son in the same amount of time.

So it is with your "bug out plans" - the expedient method may lead to subsequent challenges - where do you go in a car that can't go anywhere ? What if the Metro North train drivers refuse to drive? It's good to think up the possible first actions here in writing, to let them form, take flight and see where they go. Here we have a good discussion of an idea that didn't work out. That's good. Just because an idea is not a good solution does not mean it's a bad thing to talk about. Failure is an opportunity to learn - in fact, it's better to always make new mistakes, ideally before they harm anyone.

Martin, I'll agree with you that thinking things through is a fine idea in plenty of situations, not just the dire ones. No shortage of things I wish I had considered a bit more carefully before making a decision.

But the initial posting in this thread leaves a lot to be desired. The link to the product website, discussing an obviously illegal modification to it, and the sheer arrogance of surviving at the cost of others are all bound to bring the Irish up of some people here. (Imagine if he posted to a link to a firearm that was easy to convert from semi to auto and talked about modifying it.)

This question could have been asked in a far more reasonable way that didn't provoke any reactions. It certainly doesn't read like a hypothetical scenario he's just running through his head; instead, it sounds like he's about to place an order.

Fitzoid- It's interesting you bring up survival of the fittest in the same sense of 'best armed'. Survival of the fittest sure goes along with nature, as well as survival of the best prepared being nearly identical. Lets not even get into your comment about valuing your life more than others... That again goes with NATURE and your natural instinct to survive. Your life and your families ARE more important to you than others. If you don't think like this then are you really prepared to survive? (This is a rhetorical question.)

Are you a little to sensitive to the way a question is asked? I don't know but I think you over analyzed this guys post and read into it a BIT much. Maybe I did that to your posts too but I think my points regarding your posts are on track.

-Todd

The term gridlock comes to mind. Signal or no signal, traffic is going to be backed up forever, in all directions. But, should your gizmo actually help you get along, and others found out what you were doing, the term lynching, or roadside justice, will probably come into play...

Good point OBG.

Recently a major intersection in my town was out. Flashing red, stop light. My 10 minute drive from 1 side of town to the other that takes 7 minutes took nearly 30.

If you had your gizmo it wouldn't matter because by the time you SEE the light it's <5minutes to get through.

The REAL problem is getting even near the light not going through it.


In reality if you are in town even a relatively small one (like mine) and a single goes out and it's a major hub single you are screwed. I could have walked or road a bike faster than we drove home.

I'd hate for this forum to turn into a "do whatever it takes" kind of place. But while we're just running scenarios through our minds; spitballing if you will; my mind drifts to another topic of discussion. And while it's OK to just put in my two cents as if this were a place and I was the kind of person who thought in a "do whatever it takes" fashion:

Screw the national forests, habitats, wildlife, homes and human lives I put in jeopardy, I'm setting a signal fire as big as all Hell to get my sorry lost butt rescued.

Fortunately I wouldn't do something like that, nor act upon such thoughts if I had them...

However, I understand that by the forum rules, your recent comment on the subject and so forth, such musings aren't out of bounds and don't warrant deletions. My apologies for asking.

If you are referring to my post in regards to discussing such thing on this forum I believe you too have taken things to far or read into them far more than what they are. I never said start talking about everything illegal, I just think it's odd that someone doesn't value their own life or families more than a stranger. (I don't think people should take this as not wanting to help a stranger or a friend, there is a difference.)

Comparing an electronic devise that changes a stop light and forces other traffic to STOP is not really a good comparison to setting thousands of acres on fire and potentially killing thousands of animals, burning down homes and killing people.

I also don't see what would be wrong with someone 'new' asking or stating "Well if I was lost I would just set a huge fire and they would find me." People here are kind enough and knowledgeable enough to educate this person.

Accidental illegal acts are a little different than planning, and creating an illegal devise and discussing it on an open forum.

Anyway, please don't take my opinion on the matter as an argument with you personally it's not. I am simply replying to your statement and stating my opinion.

I don't want anyone to have hard feelings about this

If you look at the title of my post it says, "Re: Vehicle Bugout -Traffic Lights - MIRT? [Re: martinfocazio]".

That Re part in brackets at the end tells you who my post was referring to, and the "do whatever it takes" quote does as well (though it should have been "do what it takes to protect my family"). I apologize for not using the forum's Quote Function.

The part in my post regarding burning down a forest to save my own butt and not caring about what happens to anything else is referring to a post in the last few weeks about a hiker who accidentally started a forest fire. In the news item/thread the aforementioned hiker lit a signal fire after becoming lost. In that thread, people were a little cheesed that this hiker dared start a signal fire in the dry season to get rescued after only a few hours. My thoughts in this post regarding that one were a continuation of the idea of "Me and Mine Before You and Yours".

And that idea, "Me and Mine Before You and Yours" is what this MIRT is all about. There's no way to sugarcoat it.

In a forum where there are heros who save people's lives at the possible expense of their own I find the idea of "Me and Mine Before You and Yours" to be offensive. In a forum where Firemen, Law Enforcement Officers, Paramedics, SAR members and so on post their knowledge and offer helpful advice I find the idea of "Me and Mine Before You and Yours" to be the antithesis of what they stand for and for what this site stands for. I find the MIRT concept offensive.

I apologize for any confusion.

I have posted regarding the fact that I understand the topic does not violate the forum rules, and apologize for suggesting it should be deleted.

I'm not mad at anyone. No worries.

Without getting into the moral dilemma of the situation, the first thing that came to my mind was, would it even work? It just doesn't seem feasible that a flashlight drop in would be powerful enough to trigger the stoplight sensors, and that's after assuming you would even be able to get the modulation right.

My second thought is, what's the use? If the situation was that bad where you feel justified in using it, why bother messing around with electronic gizmos? Just run the red light. If you're not worried about the legality of possesing one of these items, why would you be worried about the legality of traffic laws?

But in reality, if there there was every a time where you'd need one of these, people won't even care about the traffic lights. So it wouldn't matter if you had the power to change the lights to green or red yellow or whatever, the instersection is going to be blocked. The right of way means nothing if there's a car in front of you with no place to go. In an emergency situation even the fire department and police have trouble getting through, so I doubt this toy would really have any effect.

It used to work. The very first traffic light controllers for fire trucks did work on IR. But once people started using them they changed the systems so they don't work anymore. Spending any $ on one now would be a waste of $.

They have replaced the IR units with sound activated units. The new ones are triggered by a wail siren found in emergency vehicles.

If those gadgets still worked, you know people would be using them.

But... suppose one driver pressed the button to change the light and hit the gas pedal (in moving traffic), going north through an intersection, certain that the light would change... Then suppose another person hit the button to change the light and then hit the gas pedal, headed west through the same intersection?

It seems to me that NOBODY would be getting out of town fast. Dead, maybe, but not fast.

I think that's one of the problems with bugging out. Then there would also be people driving poorly maintained vehicles that suddenly died, people trying to turn or change lanes in front of someone who had no intention of giving way, pedestrians trying to take a short-cut...

Hide at home and avoid many of the problems.

Sue

Your assuming that home is safe to hide in. Before I moved a couple weeks ago I wouldn't think of hiding at home, it was hard enough to keep the welfare support neighbors that moved in from taking my stuff during normal times.

That would be the time to have a big dog...

Do you think that would be much defense? It wouldn't take much to defeat a dog, one quick shot and he's down. When the drug addicts have no problem pulling a gun on each other over their drugs they probably wouldn't have much problem doing the same to me or a dog.

Keep the dog inside. Loud, and 'specially large sounding, dogs have been well known to be a burglar deterrent for a long time. If the badguys come in anyway, armed, well, we know what should happen next...

Yep, dog is there for its sensors, not its teeth. Just wake me up and stay out of my line of fire.

I think there was a thread a short while ago that discussed what to do to defnd oneself against a dog attack, begun by dweste IIRC.

And IIRC, one dog was not considered a big worry by many. If you send your dog, that is your family pet, out to protect your personal property, you may be more upset at losing your family pet than you would be at losing something else.

I know someone that used to go on board ships, some from a terminal in Brooklyn. There was a point in time that you needed to have the guard take you to the ship because the terminal was guarded by dogs. Then it was no longer needed, because someone stole the dogs.

Trying to flip traffic lights like that would be akin to driving around neighborhoods pushing your garage opener remote button. You'd be about as likely of hitting the right code for any given light.

Beyond that, bugout with a motorcycle in an urban setting. Short of a jetpack, that is about the only other way you can hope to escape in a short time period.

I have not been in the forum for quite a while and obviously things have changed. I was under the impression that this forum was to "toss ideas around, learn, ponder and DISCUSS them" with peers of equal stature and idealism. I am not one to judge. With that said I have learned that this thread is something that I have never thought of, probably will never need and that others that are in a position of needing to get out of a large metropolis may need to consider other possibilities. Just my opinion, and like everyone elses is subjected to rejection.

No ones mentioned it so I may have my fact wrong but I thought these devices worked by turning ALL lights RED.