The problem with roadblocks is that they are chaotic, crowded, and disorganized. 1,000 people show up to get through, but they are only letting a few through. It's manned by a bunch of 19 year old soldiers who don't really know the bigger picture they are just told to stand there and they couldn't care less about you or your house.

The real problem arises because a lot of the people who show up at the roadblock want to go through the neighborhood to some other neighborhood and they get turned back. They are told to go around and enter from another side. There might be several roadblocks that you have to go through.

When you finally show up to your neighborhood's roadblock you don't normally need a license. You just need something like a utility bill or a bank statement with your address on it. The soldier will take your utility bill and then walk away to a tent somewhere and someone higher up like a Sargent or whatever will try to find your address on a map because they don't know your neighborhood. This can take seemingly forever because these people have never been to your neighborhood and don't know the area. They are NG soldiers from some faraway place. In the meantime, you're standing there waiting in a sea of pissed off people. It is chaos. Don't give up your license - you may not get it back.

You may or may not get through that first checkpoint, and you may or may not get your utility bill back so carry a few if you can. You might get sent to another roadblock and when you ask for your bill back it is nowhere to be found.

This is exactly what happened to my grandfather, mother and me in Homestead after Hurricane Andrew. It was an absolute nightmare trying to get back into my grandfather's neighborhood. I've heard that Katrina was even worse.

Sure, you should carry your license but don't give it up unless you have to. Only a cop understands the importance of that little document so keep it away from civilian and military roadblock "attendants" if possible.