Tag: vehicle survival skills

Mississippi’s Worst Roads to Drive on During a Disaster

On By The.Daily.ChristianIn Mississippi, Mississippi's Worst RoadsLeave a comment

Mississippi’s Worst Roads to Drive on During a Disaster: A Survivalist’s Field Guide

I’ve spent a fair share of my life behind the wheel—traversing deserts, dodging floods in the Amazon basin, crawling over icy switchbacks in the Alps, and even navigating war-torn backroads in Eastern Europe. But if there’s one place that surprises you when disaster strikes, it’s Mississippi. She might wear a calm, slow-moving Southern charm on the surface, but when nature loses her temper, the Magnolia State’s roads turn into a web of pitfalls, traps, and survival puzzles that test your grit behind the wheel.

In disaster scenarios—be it hurricanes, floods, tornados, or civil unrest—your vehicle becomes more than transportation. It becomes your mobile shelter, your escape route, your lifeline. And you better believe the roads you choose can either carry you to safety or trap you in a nightmare. So let’s dig into it—what roads to avoid, how to drive like a survivor, and what to do when your tank runs dry in the middle of nowhere.

The Roads That Turn Against You: Mississippi’s Worst During a Disaster

1. U.S. Highway 90 – Gulf Coast
U.S. 90 hugs the Mississippi coastline—a region notorious for storm surges. During hurricanes like Katrina, this road was swallowed whole by the Gulf. Bridges collapse, lanes disappear under waves, and escape becomes impossible once the water rises. Avoid it during any coastal evacuation.

2. I-10 and the Bay St. Louis Bridge
When evacuating westward, folks hit I-10. But the bridge over Bay St. Louis? It’s a choke point. One lane closure or flood surge, and you’re stuck for hours, maybe days. If disaster’s looming, skip it.

3. Highway 49 – Hattiesburg to Gulfport
This is the main evacuation route from inland to the coast. That means in a disaster, everyone uses it. It clogs faster than a sink in a sandstorm. Plus, it’s flood-prone and riddled with low shoulders.

4. U.S. Route 61 – The Blues Highway
Stretching from Natchez to Memphis, U.S. 61 cuts through the Delta. Beautiful country—until it rains. The Delta’s flatlands mean floodwaters spread fast and wide. Visibility drops, hydroplaning increases, and shoulder pull-offs are rare.

5. Mississippi Highway 16 – Between Canton and Carthage
This road’s notorious for rural isolation. Cell signal’s weak, and it floods like clockwork every rainy season. When you’re alone out there with no signal and rising water, you’re not escaping—you’re surviving.

6. Natchez Trace Parkway
Scenic? Yes. Safe during a disaster? No. This two-lane parkway has limited exits, minimal lighting, and no commercial services. Once you’re on it, you’re committed.

7. I-55 – North-South Lifeline or Bottleneck?
It’s the primary artery between Jackson and Memphis. But with a major evacuation, it turns into a parking lot. Add a fuel shortage or a traffic incident, and it quickly becomes a metal graveyard.

8. MS Highway 24 – Between Liberty and McComb
Winding, poorly maintained, and flood-prone. When it rains, it’s a mudslide waiting to happen. Not ideal when you need speed and clarity of direction.

9. County Road 513 – Clarke County
Barely paved in sections. Full of switchbacks, logging trucks, and culverts that overflow with the slightest drizzle. Locals call it “Snakeback.” Avoid unless you’re desperate.

10. Any Backroad in the Delta During Tornado Season
Mississippi’s backroads in the Delta look quaint—until you’re racing against a twister. No cover, no exits, and crumbling asphalt. Trust me, I’ve driven those roads during storms, and it’s like rolling the dice with your life.

15 Survival Driving Skills for Disaster Scenarios

  1. Fuel Load Planning – Always start every trip with a full tank, and top off at half.
  2. Route Reconnaissance – Learn three exit routes: major road, secondary road, backroad.
  3. Night Driving without Headlights – Practice using low-beams or parking lights to stay unseen during civil unrest.
  4. Driving Through Flooded Roads – Know the depth limit (6 inches can stall most cars), and never cross moving water.
  5. Using Mirrors for Perimeter Checks – Keep aware of your six. Situational awareness prevents ambushes.
  6. Brake Fade Management – Pump brakes if descending long hills after heavy use—don’t ride them.
  7. Driving in Reverse Under Pressure – Practice reversing fast and straight in an open field or lot.
  8. Precision Steering Over Debris – Learn to aim between tire-puncturing debris in tight spaces.
  9. Push-Start (Manual Transmission) – Learn how to roll and jump-start a dead manual car.
  10. Window Exit Techniques – Know how to break glass underwater or jammed—keep a spring-loaded punch in your console.
  11. Camouflage Your Vehicle – Mud and branches can break up your silhouette from aerial drones.
  12. Off-Road Tire Pressure Adjustment – Lowering PSI gives traction in sand or mud.
  13. Roadblock Bypass – Practice turning around quickly or taking medians without damaging your undercarriage.
  14. Driving with a Blown Tire – Keep control, slow down, and ride the rim to safety if needed.
  15. Trailer Hitch Defense – Use hitches and reinforced bumpers to nudge through obstacles or abandoned vehicles.

3 DIY Survival Driving Hacks When You Run Out of Gas

  1. Gravity-Fed Fuel Siphon from Abandoned Vehicles
    Keep a length of clear tubing and a small gas can. Use gravity and suction to siphon gas from vehicles lower than yours. Be quick, be quiet, and avoid breathing fumes.
  2. Turn Your Car into a Solar Shelter
    Out of gas and sun’s beating down? Use Mylar blankets in your emergency kit to reflect sunlight away from the windows. Set up shade, insulate with clothes or mats, and use water strategically.
  3. Bike Conversion Emergency Rig
    If you’re packing minimalist, mount a folding bike on your rig. When gas runs out, detach and ride out with your bug-out bag. You can even strap small trailers to bikes to haul essentials.

Final Thoughts from the Road

Mississippi is a beautiful, complicated place. Her roads tell stories—some long and slow, others sudden and tragic. When disaster strikes, it’s not just about escape. It’s about staying sharp, planning ahead, and being willing to do what others can’t or won’t.

I’ve seen families make it out because they chose the unpaved road while others sat idling in gridlock. I’ve met men who used a siphoned quart of gas to jump two cars and carry a diabetic neighbor to safety. You don’t need to be a superhero. You just need to be prepared.

So keep your tank full, your eyes wide, and your hands steady. And when Mississippi turns mean, you’ll be the one who gets through—not because of luck, but because you drove like a survivor.

Alabama’s Worst Roads to Drive on During a Disaster

On By The.Daily.ChristianIn Alabama, Alabama's Worst RoadsLeave a comment

Alabama’s Worst Roads to Drive on During a Disaster – Survival Driving Skills That Could Save Your Life

Let me tell you something I’ve learned the hard way: roads can either save your life or seal your fate. I’ve driven through war zones, flood plains, and wildfire hellscapes—from the Andes to Appalachia—and one thing stays true no matter where you are: when the world turns upside down, your vehicle becomes your lifeline.

Now, I’ve got a deep respect for Alabama. The people are tough, the land is rich, but the roads? Well, in a disaster, they can become death traps. You’ve got narrow highways hugging cliffs, crumbling backroads, and choke points through every major city. When a hurricane, tornado, or grid-down crisis hits, you better know where to avoid—and how to drive like your life depends on it.

Because it just might.

The Deadliest Roads in Alabama When SHTF

Let’s get the lay of the land first. These roads are notorious for bottlenecks, poor maintenance, flood risks, or all three. Avoid them if possible in a disaster—unless you’ve got no choice, in which case you’d better be armed with skill and grit.

  1. I-65 in Birmingham – A concrete artery clogged with wreckage even on a good day. In a disaster, this becomes a parking lot surrounded by desperation.
  2. US 431 (The Highway to Hell) – Ranked one of America’s most dangerous highways. Rural, poorly lit, and winding. When panic hits, this road becomes lethal.
  3. I-20/I-59 through Tuscaloosa – Twisting interstates with heavy truck traffic and notorious pile-ups. One wrong move and you’re caught in a metal maze.
  4. AL-69 through Cullman County – Narrow, flood-prone, and lined with trees that come down like matchsticks in a storm.
  5. County Road 137 (near Florala) – Bad pavement, blind turns, and limited cell service. Isolation here can turn deadly fast.
  6. US 231 near Montgomery – High speeds, low visibility in fog or smoke, and not enough shoulders for emergency stops.
  7. I-10 through Mobile – Prone to hurricane surge, flooding, and gridlock. You do not want to be stuck here as a storm rolls in.
  8. AL-21 through Talladega National Forest – Remote, winding, and vulnerable to rockslides and fallen trees.
  9. US 72 near Huntsville – Urban sprawl, high traffic, and flash flood danger make this road risky under pressure.
  10. County Route 89 (Lookout Mountain Parkway) – Stunning views, but steep drops, tight curves, and zero forgiveness in icy or wet conditions.

15 Survival Driving Skills for When It All Goes Sideways

If you’re stuck driving during a disaster—fleeing a fire, outrunning a flood, or navigating the aftermath of civil unrest—you need more than a license. You need survival instincts behind the wheel. Here’s what I’ve learned over thousands of miles on the edge:

  1. Off-Road Readiness
    Learn how to take your vehicle off the asphalt. Practice driving through mud, sand, and shallow creeks. Most disasters force you off the paved path.
  2. Reading Terrain Fast
    Scan ahead for soft shoulders, unstable ground, or collapsed asphalt. Your eyes should be 5–10 seconds down the road at all times.
  3. Momentum Conservation
    In soft ground, momentum is life. Slow, steady acceleration prevents getting bogged down. Never stop moving unless absolutely necessary.
  4. Threshold Braking
    Learn to brake just before your tires lock up. This is key on slippery or flooded roads where ABS might fail or be overwhelmed.
  5. J-Turns and Reverse Evasion
    A J-turn isn’t just for Hollywood. Practice reversing at speed and turning 180° to escape roadblocks or ambushes.
  6. Driving Without Power Steering or Brakes
    Ever lost power mid-drive? Most people freeze. Practice manual steering and pumping brakes in a dead engine scenario.
  7. Situational Awareness
    Know your 360°. Keep track of what’s behind, beside, and ahead of you—especially in urban chaos where threats come from all angles.
  8. Fuel Scavenging Knowledge
    Learn which vehicles use compatible fuel types. Modern gas has ethanol, but old-school mechanics can tell you how to mix and match in a pinch.
  9. Navigating Without GPS
    GPS fails. Learn to read a paper map, recognize north without a compass, and memorize cardinal directions.
  10. Driving in Total Darkness
    Use your high beams judiciously. Drive with no lights if necessary, using moonlight and memory. Eyes take 15–30 minutes to adjust.
  11. Crossing Flooded Roads
    Never cross water unless you know it’s less than a foot deep. Walk it first. Watch for current and washout holes.
  12. Improvised Traction Techniques
    Use floor mats, branches, or sandbags to get unstuck from mud or snow.
  13. Silent Driving Techniques
    Sometimes stealth beats speed. Coast downhill in neutral, drive without headlights, and avoid honking unless it’s life or death.
  14. Avoiding Choke Points
    Plan routes with at least three exit paths. Avoid bridges, tunnels, and underpasses unless absolutely necessary.
  15. Vehicle Self-Recovery
    Learn to use a come-along winch, jack, or tow strap solo. Don’t rely on help. Assume you are the help.

3 DIY Fuel Hacks When You Run Dry

No gas? No problem—if you’ve got the know-how and a little bushcraft grit.

  1. Siphoning From Abandoned Vehicles
    Keep a hand-pump siphon hose in your vehicle. Look for cars in shade (less evaporation) and check tanks by knocking near the rear wheel well. Be respectful—only siphon from truly abandoned vehicles.
  2. Alcohol Fuel Substitution
    In an emergency, high-proof alcohol (like moonshine or ethanol) can run in older carbureted engines or converted flex-fuel vehicles. It burns hotter and faster, so use sparingly and only if you understand your engine.
  3. Fuel Bladder Storage
    Don’t rely on the tank alone. Keep a collapsible fuel bladder hidden in your trunk or strapped under the chassis. Rotate stored fuel every few months to avoid phase separation or water contamination.

Final Word from the Driver’s Seat

Disasters strip away the luxury of inexperience. When you’re racing down US 431 as a wildfire chews up the woods behind you, or crawling through waterlogged I-10 with your kids in the backseat, what you do behind the wheel matters. Not just for you—but for everyone you’re trying to protect.

You don’t need a military-grade vehicle or a doomsday bunker on wheels. What you need is skill, mindset, and mobility. You need to look at your vehicle not as a machine—but as your escape route, your shelter, and sometimes, your weapon.

Know your terrain. Respect your machine. Never panic.
Drive smart. Drive hard. Survive.

Wyoming’s Worst Roads to Drive on During a Disaster

On By The.Daily.ChristianIn Wyoming, Wyoming's Worst Roads to Drive on During a DisasterLeave a comment

Driving Through Disaster: Survival Tactics for Navigating Wyoming’s Worst Roads

When the sky turns black and the land starts to rumble, there’s only one thing on a survivalist’s mind: movement. You get caught sitting still during a natural disaster—be it wildfire, flood, blizzard, or quake—and you’re as good as part of the wreckage. Wyoming, beautiful and vast as she is, has some of the worst roads you could imagine driving when Mother Nature’s wrath descends. I’ve driven through it all—dust storms in the high plains, snow squalls near Togwotee Pass, even a landslide outside of Jackson that buried half a two-lane mountain road. And I’m still here to tell you what works—and what damn sure doesn’t.

Now, I’ve broken down in Bighorn Canyon in winter and blown a radiator going downhill on Highway 22 when the brakes cooked out. I know every rattle and groan a vehicle makes when it’s begging you to stop. But survival? That’s about going forward when everything else is falling apart.

Wyoming’s Most Treacherous Roads in a Natural Disaster

Some roads here seem like they were designed with disaster in mind—twisting, narrow, unforgiving. If a major event hits—earthquake, wildfire, blizzard—these are the roads you want to avoid or be prepared to conquer:

  1. Togwotee Pass (US 26/287) – Altitude, avalanche zones, and whiteout blizzards make this a death trap.
  2. Chief Joseph Scenic Byway (WY 296) – Gorgeous in summer, but in winter or fire season, it’s a one-way ticket to stuck.
  3. I-80 through Elk Mountain Pass – Infamous for sudden blizzards and 80-mph wind gusts. Trucks jackknife here regularly.
  4. Beartooth Highway – Known as one of the most dangerous roads in America; beautiful, but cliffs and snowstorms will kill you.
  5. WY-22 over Teton Pass – Hairpin turns, rockslides, and no room for error.
  6. Wind River Canyon (US 20) – Landslides, flooding, and ice take this scenic drive and turn it into a trap.
  7. WY-130 (Snowy Range Scenic Byway) – Closed most of the year for good reason. In a disaster? Forget it.
  8. Casper Mountain Road – Steep, unguarded, and a magnet for ice and landslides.
  9. South Pass (WY-28) – Historic, yes—but treacherous in high winds and with poor visibility.
  10. Medicine Bow Mountains routes – Remote, often unmaintained, and the first to close in bad weather.

15 Survival Driving Skills to Get You Through Hell

When disaster hits and the roads go to hell, here’s what you better know before you even turn the key.

  1. Threshold Braking – Learn to brake just before your tires lock. Especially useful on icy or gravel roads.
  2. Clutch Control (Manual Transmissions) – Use low gears to descend steep grades safely or to power through debris.
  3. Off-Road Line Picking – Know how to visually choose the safest path over rocks, through mud, or across fallen branches.
  4. High-Centered Escape – Know how to rock your vehicle out when it’s stuck on a crest (like snowbanks or debris piles).
  5. Skid Recovery – Steer into the skid, don’t panic, and throttle lightly to regain control.
  6. Water Fording Techniques – Know how to test water depth, use low gear, and maintain a slow, steady bow wave.
  7. Reading Road Shoulders – In Wyoming, shoulders are often soft, crumbly. Know what’s drivable—and what’s a trap.
  8. Using Reverse Strategically – Sometimes backtracking 50 feet is safer than pushing ahead into chaos.
  9. Downhill Descent Control – Use engine braking (low gears) instead of cooking your brake pads.
  10. Navigating Without GPS – Natural disasters knock out cell towers. Know how to read a topographical map and use a compass.
  11. Night Vision Preservation – Keep your cabin lights off, dash dimmed. Let your eyes adjust; use red filters if needed.
  12. Quick Tire Change Under Duress – Practice doing this in under 10 minutes. Time is life when you’re being chased by wildfire.
  13. Improvised Traction Aids – Floor mats, branches, even clothing can give you grip on snow or mud.
  14. Evacuation Convoy Driving – Know how to follow closely without tailgating and communicate with lights or hand signals.
  15. Stealth Movement – Sometimes survival means not being seen. Turn off lights, coast in neutral, stay low and slow.

3 DIY Survival Driving Hacks When You Run Out of Gas

Even the best laid plans meet the bottom of a gas tank. If you’re deep in Wyoming’s backcountry when the needle drops to E, here’s what can keep you moving:

  1. Fuel Siphoning (If It’s Legal and Safe)
    Carry a hand siphon or rubber hose. Abandoned vehicles or machines in remote farms may have usable fuel. Use a filter (like a cloth or even a coffee filter) to screen debris as you transfer.
  2. DIY Wood Gasifier (Advanced Hack)
    Old-school tech: with metal cans, piping, and a heat source, you can build a wood gasifier. Burns wood to create gas vapor usable by older carbureted engines. Doesn’t work on modern fuel-injected cars without major modding—but for that 1980s pickup? Maybe your only option.
  3. Alcohol-Based Fuel Substitute (Short Range Only)
    If you’ve got isopropyl alcohol, ethanol, or even high-proof liquor, you can mix it in with leftover gas in emergencies. You’ll burn hotter and dirtier, and it’s not good long-term—but in a disaster, range matters more than emissions.

A Survivalist’s Advice for Wyoming Disasters

Wyoming isn’t forgiving. With towns separated by dozens of empty miles and weather that can turn in a heartbeat, you have to drive like your life depends on it—because out here, it does. Keep your rig ready at all times: full tank, spare fuel cans (stabilized), tools, jack, patch kit, compressor, food, and water for three days minimum. I keep a bugout bag in the cab and a collapsible shovel in the bed. I also travel with tire chains—even in summer—because snow can hit in August up near Beartooth.

In winter, I preheat my diesel with a generator or plug-in timer, and I’ve learned the hard way that synthetic oil is mandatory when the mercury drops below -20°F. Got stranded once near Rawlins for 28 hours in a whiteout—thank God I had insulated boots, a zero-degree bag, and a Hi-Lift jack to lift the truck out of a drift when it all cleared.

Also, know how to communicate without a cell. A CB radio, handheld ham (with a license if you’re being legal), or even a signal mirror can mean the difference between rescue and rotting. Don’t expect anyone to come for you fast—not here.

And never drive into the unknown without logging your route with someone. Even if it’s just a buddy over text. If you vanish in Wyoming’s backroads, it can be weeks before anyone finds you—if at all.

Final Thoughts

Driving in disaster is not about speed—it’s about control. Knowing your machine. Reading the land. Making decisions in seconds that mean life or death. That’s survival driving. And in a place like Wyoming, where the sky can fall on you in more ways than one, that knowledge isn’t just a skill.

It’s your salvation.