Rhode Island’s Worst Roads to Drive on During a Disaster – and How to Survive Them

By a man who’s broken down in the Rockies, outrun a wildfire in California, and once crossed a frozen lake in Manitoba with nothing but a CB radio and a prayer, let me tell you something straight: driving during a disaster is a whole different beast. And if you’re in Rhode Island—small in size, dense in people, and loaded with pothole-riddled nightmares—you better be ready to adapt, react, and survive.

I’ve been through hurricanes, blizzards, and blackouts. And trust me, when the highways jam and the backroads crumble, knowing how to drive to stay alive is as vital as food and water.

Rhode Island’s Road Hazards in a Disaster

Rhode Island might be tiny, but it packs a punch in terms of infrastructure risk. Here’s a survivalist’s breakdown of the worst roads to avoid (or approach with extreme caution) during a disaster scenario:

1. Route 95 through Providence – Traffic bottlenecks, overpasses, and congestion mean you’re sitting ducks in a bug-out situation. If it’s not gridlocked, it’s flooded.
2. Route 10 Connector – Often under construction, and with poor visibility ramps, it becomes a chaos corridor during emergencies.
3. Route 6 (Huntington Expressway) – Riddled with sharp curves and sudden exits, this road is a nightmare during high-stress evacuations.
4. Post Road (Route 1) – Flood-prone and filled with commercial strip malls. Great for scavenging, terrible for escaping.
5. Route 146 into North Smithfield – Lined with industrial traffic and overloaded bridges. Avoid it when supply trucks panic.
6. Broad Street in Cranston/Pawtucket – Narrow, dense, and chaos incarnate when people start fleeing in masses.
7. Hope Street in Bristol – Coastal, and the first to flood in a Nor’easter or storm surge.
8. Putnam Pike (Route 44) – Beautiful, rural… and isolated. When tree limbs drop, you’re boxed in.
9. West Main Road in Middletown – Connects to Navy installations, making it a prime security choke point during martial law or military lockdowns.
10. Reservoir Avenue, Cranston – Urban traffic, tight intersections, and vulnerable power lines make this area high-risk.

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15 Survival Driving Skills That’ll Save Your Life in a Disaster

When the time comes and you’re behind the wheel while the world burns, floods, or freezes, these 15 survival driving skills could make the difference between life and death:

1. Situational Awareness – Constantly scan mirrors, gauges, and surroundings. Awareness buys time.
2. Emergency Braking Control – Learn how to brake hard without skidding. Threshold braking on dry ground; pumping on wet.
3. Navigating Without GPS – GPS dies, cell towers drop—so know your route by memory or use an offline map app.
4. Driving with Blown Tires – Steer straight, ease off gas, don’t brake until speed drops. Then guide to a stop.
5. Night Vision Tactics – Avoid high-beams in fog; use low beams and follow reflective markers or fog lines.
6. Fuel Efficiency Driving – Feather the throttle, avoid sudden stops, and coast when safe. Every drop counts.
7. Hand Signals and Horn Codes – In a convoy or with other survivors, use lights or horn taps to communicate.
8. Underwater Escape – Unbuckle, roll down windows fast before electronics die. Kick windshield if submerged.
9. Snow & Ice Maneuvers – Turn into the skid. Never slam brakes. Use snowbanks for controlled stops.
10. Off-road Evasion – Know how to spot soft ground, use momentum to climb hills, and shift to low gear on declines.
11. Avoiding Road Rage & Panic Drivers – Stay calm. Predict erratic movements. Don’t engage—evasion is your friend.
12. Barricade Navigation – Reverse precision. Know how to three-point turn in tight quarters or go off-shoulder without getting stuck.
13. Silent Movement – If needed, coast with the engine off on downhill terrain. Avoid noise to stay unnoticed.
14. Improvised Lighting – Red LED headlamps or dimmed cabin lights help preserve night vision and avoid detection.
15. Driving Through Floods – No more than six inches of water unless you know your air intake height. Go slow, steady—don’t create a wake.

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

You’re out of gas. Maybe siphoning stations got shut down, maybe your fuel cache got looted, or maybe you just pushed too far. Don’t panic. You still have options if you’ve got a brain, a toolkit, and a bit of know-how:

1. The Denatured Alcohol Boost (Alcohol Stove Fuel Hack)

If you have denatured alcohol (used in marine stoves or camping gear), you can use a small blend (ONLY in emergencies) to extend the remaining gasoline in a carbureted engine. Do not attempt this with fuel-injected or modern engines—older vehicles only.

• Caution: This is extremely risky. Use only to limp to safety. Never exceed 10% mix. Filter everything.

2. Siphon from Lawn Equipment, Generators, or Boats

Emergency fuel isn’t just in cars. Mowers, snowblowers, backup generators, boats—all carry gasoline. Use a hand-siphon pump (avoid mouth siphoning) and a catch can. Keep a fuel transfer kit in your bug-out bag—small, cheap, priceless in a pinch.

3. Create a Gravity-Fed Drip Tank

If your vehicle fuel pump fails or you want to bypass a contaminated tank, rig a gravity-fed drip tank using a clean water jug, clear tubing, and a fuel filter. Mount it above the engine and feed it into the carburetor or fuel intake. This is makeshift, not efficient, but it can get your rig a few miles out of hell.

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Surviving the Drive in Little Rhody

Driving through a disaster in Rhode Island is about threading the needle between panic, geography, and infrastructure failure. You’ve got bridges, tight urban corridors, a coastline that floods faster than your bathtub, and a population density that ensures traffic the minute the sirens wail.

So what do you do?

• Pre-scout alternate routes—especially rural cut-throughs, utility paths, and even bike trails.
• Keep a printed map in your glovebox. Mark fuel stations, water sources, and chokepoints.
• Drive light. Weight kills speed and fuel economy. Strip non-essentials from your bug-out vehicle.
• Keep a vehicle go-bag: Include fix-a-flat, siphon kit, battery jumper, headlamp, tire plug kit, and a collapsible fuel container.
• Fill up every time you hit ¾ tank. Don’t wait till you’re low in a crisis zone.
• Maintain your ride. That rusted-out ’98 Tacoma might be ugly, but if it runs clean and has high clearance, it’s better than a dead hybrid with a cracked battery.

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When you know the roads like a survivalist knows his terrain, and you’ve trained behind the wheel as much as on the trail, you won’t need to hope—you’ll just drive. Smooth, quiet, and smart. Get out of Dodge—or Providence, in this case—and live to see another sunrise.

You’re not just driving. You’re surviving.

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