emergency driving tips – TheDailyChristian

Kansas’s Worst Roads to Drive on During a Disaster: A Survivalist’s Take

I’ve driven through hurricanes in Louisiana, dust storms in Arizona, and ice storms that turned Appalachian roads into glass. But Kansas—Kansas presents a whole different breed of trouble. You’d think the flatlands would be forgiving in a crisis, but that’s where most folks get it wrong. It’s not always the terrain that gets you. It’s the condition of the roads, the isolation, and the unpredictability of Midwestern disasters—tornadoes, flash floods, and blizzards, all sharing the same space.

If you find yourself driving through Kansas during a disaster, your survival could depend on more than just a full tank and GPS signal. I’ve learned that firsthand. Below, I’ll walk you through the worst roads to avoid, survival driving skills every driver should master, and some good ol’ DIY fuel tricks in case you’re stuck out there with nothing but empty air in the tank.

Worst Roads in Kansas to Drive on During a Disaster

1. K-10 (Between Lawrence and Lenexa):
In a flash flood, this stretch turns treacherous. Low-lying underpasses near De Soto collect water fast, and rural detours aren’t much better. I’ve seen folks stranded in standing water taller than their hoods. It only takes 6 inches to lose traction—remember that.

2. US-69 (South of Kansas City to Fort Scott):
A beautiful drive on a clear day. But during a tornado warning, it’s an exposed corridor with few places to safely pull over. Strong crosswinds rip through your vehicle like paper.

3. I-70 (Especially West of Salina):
Out here, the wind whips harder than most expect. Combine that with low visibility from dust storms or blizzards, and you’re better off pulling off and hunkering down. Black ice also hits this interstate hard during winter storms.

4. K-4 (Near Lindsborg):
This rural highway has almost no shoulder and poor lighting. During power outages or wildfire evacuations, it becomes a bottleneck of confused drivers with nowhere to turn.

5. US-56 (Between Great Bend and Dodge City):
A ghost road during snowstorms. I’ve driven this route when snow drifts were piled six feet high on either side. The danger isn’t just the snow—it’s isolation. Cell service is spotty, and help is hours away.

15 Survival Driving Skills That Could Save Your Life

Over the years, I’ve developed a toolbox of survival driving skills. Here are 15 that’ll get you through Kansas—or anywhere else—when things go sideways:

Reading the Sky:
Cloud behavior tells you more than the news app. Watch for greenish skies, rotating cloud formations, or sudden calm—signs of a tornado.
Flood Depth Estimation:
Never trust your eyes alone. Use roadside markers or mailbox heights to judge flood levels. If water is touching the bottom of a mailbox, turn around.
Controlled Skidding:
If your vehicle starts to slide, steer into the skid. Don’t panic, don’t brake hard—just gently guide it back.
Off-Road Navigation:
Know how to drive off-pavement without tearing up your vehicle. That includes easing through ditches and avoiding wet soil that could sink you.
Improvised Compass Navigation:
If your tech dies, use the sun and shadows. Place a stick in the ground and mark the shadow every 15 minutes. The line runs west to east.
Engine Management in High Winds:
Drive slower into the wind and watch for sudden gusts. Keep both hands on the wheel—Kansas crosswinds can slam a car sideways.
Map Memory Practice:
Study your route before leaving. Know alternative exits and landmarks in case GPS fails.
Night Driving with No Lights:
Practice navigating at dusk without high beams. Learn to read silhouettes and shadows. In some scenarios, you may want to drive without lights to avoid detection.
Escape from Submersion:
If your vehicle is sinking in water, unbuckle and break the side window before pressure seals the doors. Carry a glass-breaking tool within reach.
Fuel Rationing Tactics:
Don’t floor it. Accelerate slowly and cruise at a steady speed—55 mph is ideal for fuel conservation.
Push-Start a Manual Car:
If your battery dies and you drive a stick, you can push-start it by rolling it in neutral, engaging second gear, and popping the clutch.
Defensive Driving in Herd Traffic:
During evacuations, people drive like panicked animals. Leave double the space, avoid road rage, and assume everyone else will make the worst decision.
Tire Plugging in the Field:
A $10 plug kit and air pump can fix a flat in minutes. Don’t rely on the donut; it’s a last resort.
Communication with Signals:
Use your vehicle lights or a bandana to signal others. Three flashes of a flashlight = distress.
Thermal Awareness:
Feel your hood and vents. If the engine smells hot or belts are squealing, you may be overheating. Know when to shut it down and cool off before it seizes.

3 DIY Survival Driving Hacks When You’re Out of Gas

Running out of fuel in Kansas isn’t just inconvenient—it can be fatal in extreme weather. Here’s how to stretch your mobility when the tank’s dry:

1. Siphon Gas from Abandoned Vehicles
Carry a siphon kit or clear tubing. Insert into the gas tank, start suction, and drain into a container. Do this only when it’s legal and ethical—abandoned in disaster zones is a gray area where survival comes first.

2. Burnable Alcohol Mixtures
If you have access to rubbing alcohol (isopropyl, 91% or higher), small quantities can be mixed with gas to extend mileage in carbureted engines. Not ideal, but it might get you 5 more miles.

3. Bicycle Tire Air Compressor Hack
A manual tire pump (the kind for bicycles) can pressurize a sealed gas can or bottle, feeding gravity-fed carburetors. For older vehicles or small engines like mopeds, this can be life-saving for short distances.

Final Word from the Road

Kansas isn’t a place that shouts danger from the rooftops. It whispers it in the wind, in the quiet build-up of a storm, in the endless rows of wheat that hide just how far from help you really are. I’ve spent nights in ditches waiting for twisters to pass overhead. I’ve driven 50 miles on fumes through sleet with nothing but a space blanket and a hunting knife in the glove box.

You want to make it through a Kansas disaster? It’s not just about driving—it’s about thinking. Know your exits, trust your gut, and drive like your life depends on it—because it just might.

Arkansas’s Worst Roads to Drive on During a Disaster — and How to Survive Them Behind the Wheel

Let me tell you something straight: if you’re driving through Arkansas during a full-blown disaster and you don’t know what you’re doing, you’re not just putting your life at risk—you’re endangering everyone you pass on that broken stretch of asphalt. I’ve spent years roaming every type of terrain from deserts to frozen tundras, and there’s one truth that always holds: your vehicle is either your salvation or your coffin. It all depends on how you drive it—and where.

Arkansas, beautiful and rugged as it is, isn’t exactly known for pristine highway conditions. But throw in a disaster—tornado, flood, winter storm, grid-down blackout, or civil unrest—and those narrow backroads and twisting mountain passes turn into traps. Let’s take a look at the worst places to drive through in Arkansas during a disaster, followed by survival driving skills and DIY hacks that might just save your life.

Arkansas’s Worst Roads During a Disaster

1. Highway 7 (Between Harrison and Russellville)
Picturesque? Absolutely. Safe during a flood or ice storm? Not a chance. Landslides, falling trees, and zero visibility curves make this a deathtrap when the weather turns.

2. Interstate 30 (Little Rock to Texarkana)
This corridor gets clogged fast in any kind of mass evacuation. Throw in overturned trucks, panic drivers, or a fuel shortage, and you’ve got a parking lot with a panic problem.

3. Highway 10 (Near Perryville)
Flooding hits this area hard. The road might still look “passable,” but underneath the water? Washed out culverts and crumbling pavement.

4. Interstate 40 (Especially near the White River crossing)
This stretch turns into a swampy mess when the river floods. Combine that with heavy 18-wheeler traffic and frantic evacuees, and you’re playing roulette with every mile.

5. Scenic Highway 23 – “The Pig Trail”
Don’t let the charming name fool you. During a disaster, those hairpin turns, narrow lanes, and zero guardrails can quickly become lethal.

6. Highway 71 (Between Fayetteville and Fort Smith)
Rockslides, sharp inclines, and over-confident flatlanders trying to “make good time” can clog this route in the worst way.

7. Highway 270 (Hot Springs to Mt. Ida)
Beautiful country, but limited visibility, heavy trees, and zero alternate escape routes. If something blocks your way, you’re boxed in.

8. Highway 67/167 Corridor
One of the busiest roads during evacuations. Potholes, debris, and desperate drivers weaving in and out make it a gauntlet.

9. Highway 49 (Especially near Helena-West Helena)
Low-lying areas flood fast, and that Delta wind can rip through with little warning. If the levees are stressed, it’s game over.

10. County Roads in the Ozarks
These are gravel, often unsigned, and nearly impassable with heavy rain or snow. Don’t depend on GPS—it’ll lead you right into the woods and leave you there.

15 Survival Driving Skills to Get You Out Alive

When it hits the fan, knowing how to actually drive in crisis conditions separates survivors from statistics. Here’s what I’ve learned over three decades of road-running in war zones, wilderness, and wipeouts:

Threshold Braking – Learn to brake without locking your wheels. Keeps control even on wet or icy roads.
Handbrake Turns – When you’ve got to spin the vehicle on a dime in tight quarters (say, boxed in a riot), this old rally trick can be a lifesaver.
Low Gear Hill Descent – Keeps you from skidding downhill like a boulder. Especially critical in the Ozarks.
Off-Road Tire Placement – Know how to straddle ruts and avoid tire-poppers like branches and nails.
Driving Without Power Steering – If your engine dies or belt snaps, you’d better be able to muscle that wheel.
Escape Driving in Reverse – You might need to back out of a tight spot fast. Practice controlled reversing at speed.
Ramming Basics – If you must break through a barricade, hit low and center with controlled speed—not full throttle.
Water Fording Technique – Don’t guess. Know your vehicle’s wading depth, and never cross fast-moving water.
Driving by Compass – When GPS dies and you’re in the woods, compass navigation from map-to-ground is critical.
Driving with Blown Tires – Maintain control, keep speed low, and don’t brake hard. Get to a flat zone fast.
Tire Plugging in the Field – Carry a repair kit and know how to use it. Don’t wait until you’re leaking air 40 miles from help.
Situational Awareness – You need 360° mental coverage at all times. Watch mirrors, scan shoulders, anticipate threats.
Stealth Driving – Kill lights, coast in neutral, and keep RPMs low if you’re avoiding detection.
Fuel Efficiency Driving – Coast where you can, drive 45-55 MPH, and avoid sudden acceleration to extend your fuel range.
Mental Control Under Pressure – Might not seem like a “skill,” but it’s what separates panic from execution. Breathe, focus, adapt.

3 DIY Survival Driving Hacks When You Run Out of Gas

Sometimes, despite your planning, you’ll run dry. Maybe fuel’s gone, maybe your tank’s been siphoned while you slept. Here are three field hacks that can help you squeeze a few more miles—or at least survive the walk.

1. Alcohol Stove Siphon Burner (Emergency Siphon Booster)
If you’ve got denatured alcohol, Everclear, or even high-proof liquor, you can rig a small burner under your intake pipe (carefully) to vaporize trace gasoline and create enough vapor pressure to nudge the engine over. Crude? Absolutely. But I’ve seen it work.

2. Campfire Carb Heat Trick
If you’re stuck and the engine’s too cold to vaporize remaining fuel (especially in old carb models), build a small fire nearby and redirect heat with a metal plate toward the engine block. Don’t overdo it—you want warmth, not ignition.

3. Gravity Feed from Spare Canister
Bypassing the fuel pump entirely with a gravity-feed line can give older vehicles a few extra miles. Hang the spare can higher than the fuel intake, use a clear hose and basic valve to control flow. Works best on low-pressure systems.

Final Thoughts from the Road

You don’t need to be a Navy SEAL or a Mad Max road warrior to survive behind the wheel during a disaster. What you do need is planning, experience, and the will to stay calm under fire. Don’t depend on luck. Don’t rely on rescue. When the road disappears, the GPS dies, and the fuel gauge hits E—you’ll wish you knew every one of these tips by heart.

Arkansas is a land of beauty, but beauty doesn’t mean mercy. The roads here can be cruel, especially when nature—or society—turns hostile. Keep your tank full, your eyes sharp, and your instincts sharper. Out here, survival favors the prepared.