# Avoiding the bricks, sticks, and tear gas



## sprint (May 16, 2012)

I always imagine that the hardest of bugging out will be escaping the city. How would one go about escaping a raging battle without being torn apart by hooligans, shot by the police and keeping of the congested highways. Getting out early isn't always an option so what do you do when your stuck in the rip.


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

Is bugging IN an option?

There are many things to consider; for example:

How many in the group 'escaping', and the makeup of said group (age, medical issues etc)

How much 'stuff' are you taking?

A means to meet your food & water needs?

Using a vehicle or on foot?

How far do you have to travel through the SHTF zone, can you go around it?

Do you have a means to defend yourself (easier targets die first, harder ones will still die, they just need a more desperate predator to go after them)?

Do you have any 'advance warning' gear (nightvision :dunno: ) ?

this is by no means comprehensive, just some things that immediately popped into my head... it took much longer to type than to think of


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

*using back roads*

I occassionally use weekend shopping trips to the not usual place to explore back roads and alternative travelways.

I have said it before, and I have meant to create several alternative pathways for myself to get out of Dodge in the event of one of those main artery clogging events.

I think that if we could have a few ideas for alternative exit routes, we will be better served than if we follow the sheeple for the typical main route out.


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## ContinualHarvest (Feb 19, 2012)

Check your six and keep your feet dry.
Perhaps if you are in a defensible position, you can hold out until night and move away from the battle if you're not surrounded. Know your location and alternate routes. IF bugging out by foot, bushwhacking is an option.


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## Ration-AL (Apr 18, 2012)

use google satellite view with terrain turned on and pull up your city and surrounding areas....this will show you pathways that aren't listed anywhere.
if possible travel at night, keep off the roads, use things like urban trails,train tracks,power line paths,city parks,bicycle routes,walking paths, even the sewers to get out of dodge.....

i think the most useful thing is to look at your city, look at the where the police departments and/or military bases are located, look at the largest easiest streets for them to cut off to contain the city and avoid those places and try and find routes around them .....

i have done this for my area, i live in the country so my BO plan is a bit different, you have to escape the city, try to get out where i am and the possibly go even further.....i'm lucky as if you look at the map of my state you can contain 85% of the states population by shutting down 4 roads, i happen to be just on the other-side of one of the choke points.









in my case there are military bases at the north and south end of i-5, these sections of the road will be on instant lock down no one going in or coming out, all north/south bound travel will be shut down, about 20 miles further out are the state patrol hq's to pick up stragglers who slip through, they also have offices located along i-90,hi-2, and just off of hi-12 which will be cutting off all east/west bound escapee's ....with-in maybe 30 mins they could potentially contain the whole Western (most densely populated) part of the state and then send patrols out to get the rest of us under control, at least that's what i would do if i was them.....

One last thing, all of this is really just mental masturbation, how knows whats really going to happen or how it's going to go down, make plans but don't expect to keep them , main thing is just to be in shape, be aware , keep moving

Look at your city and come up with a plan with various means to achieve it..good luck!


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## mojo4 (Feb 19, 2012)

Not sure how dense your city is but try to get out at 2 am. Most everyone is home and those are the hours everyone is most tired and least likely to start trouble. If the roads are closed and you are on foot travel by train tracks. They are level and can walk close by them easily.


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## urbanprepper (May 15, 2012)

I live in a large urban area, my plan is to get out early (if possible) if not, I plan on bugging in for 5-10 days, then making out with my vehicle and equipment. 

Obviously that all may not be possible for a variety of reasons, the other option is to leave as soon as SHTF, and I would then follow one of the couple mapped out routes, to my bug out location. None of the routes follow major highways. 

I work from the road a lot, and have been lucky enough to take a few of my routes out of town, I found it very beneficial to actually travel my bug out route...I now know a few different places I want to stop along the way to trade/barter/scavenge


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

Yeah, wait until the riot's over.you'll still probably have to deal with road blocks either military or police.


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## ContinualHarvest (Feb 19, 2012)

With the way that police have militarized, there won't be much of a difference in too long of a time. Just right now the cops can fine you and impose a shadow tax on citizens. They aren't there to help people anymore, they are to generate revenue and meet quotas.
I guess it really depends on the situation whether someone wants to wait or get out of dodge. Not an easy choice to make.


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## urbanprepper (May 15, 2012)

Magus said:


> Yeah, wait until the riot's over.you'll still probably have to deal with road blocks either military or police.


That is only if the police and military decide to try and keep the calm. One could make the argument that as soon as SHTF, all the police and military people, will become more concerned with saving family and friends.

I would think if you let the riots die down, then you'd have to worry about some road blocks that may have been set up, and abandoned (and possibly taken by others). I would worry about people taking these over, as perfect choke points to take what they didnt prep for.


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## tac803 (Nov 21, 2010)

urbanprepper said:


> That is only if the police and military decide to try and keep the calm. One could make the argument that as soon as SHTF, all the police and military people, will become more concerned with saving family and friends.
> 
> I would think if you let the riots die down, then you'd have to worry about some road blocks that may have been set up, and abandoned (and possibly taken by others). I would worry about people taking these over, as perfect choke points to take what they didnt prep for.


Point well taken. The whole question of 'when do you leave to save your own' is a personal and hard question that needs to be answered by each and every one involved in law enforcement. Dedication is common, but putting your own family at risk in order to preserve order is a hard thing to do.


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## Ration-AL (Apr 18, 2012)

urbanprepper said:


> That is only if the police and military decide to try and keep the calm. One could make the argument that as soon as SHTF, all the police and military people, will become more concerned with saving family and friends.
> 
> I would think if you let the riots die down, then you'd have to worry about some road blocks that may have been set up, and abandoned (and possibly taken by others). I would worry about people taking these over, as perfect choke points to take what they didnt prep for.


IN MY OPINION:
i think the riots are the best time to leave, you got your BOB and are ready togo, everyone else is going to be rioting the stores for supplies in a frenzy only paying attention to what is immediately around them and what's on the store shelves.
The population has not gotten to kill the other guy for his stuff stage yet as they can just throw a brick through a window and get their own and if your not trying to loot what he's trying to loot your pretty much ok, much easier then a confrontation when you can just loot, after about a week or two is when people will really start murdering each other for their stuff as everything is either spoiled or looted already, much much more dangerous at this time IMO, after about say 2 months or so most of the weaker people will be dead and gone and things should be more stable, not good, just stable, then i would try and leave, leaving within the first 2 weeks is death IMO, too much against you, by then the area has been secured and mayhem is still ensuing on the streets as the thinning of the heard starts to kick off in full swing.

as for cops and servicemen going AWOL i highly doubt you'd see that happen very quickly at all, you must remember that they have orders and are only told what they need to be told, it's happened a million times over where an outgoing or crumbling regime feeds lies and promises to it's armies as long as it possibly can till it vanishes, and i don't see the powers that be going down very quickly , not even an earth ending event could disband the US government that quickly... only thing i could even possibly dream of where the troops and cops just go home all at once is a civil war type scenario, but there would still probably a few months of SHTF before things got so bad that it was known we were in a civil war, i'm sorry i have never seen or heard of an army, even occupying it's own country, just all getting up and going home at once.....

i hate to bring it up as goodwins law will be thrown in my face, but i'm pretty sure a large portion of the germans didn't like what was going on in WWII but being on the winning side was more important then what was morally right just due to the consequences of not being part of the home team or speaking out against them.

but again i thought this thread was about bugging out, not bugging in...

my ever so humble view and speculation break down,
if your getting out, get out in the first 12-24 hours during the havoc taking your back roads route

if your stuck stay put and secure as possible for a month or two, or when things seem to have tamed down a bit and there are less people roaming around and then try to leave .

i was in the WTO riots in seattle a number of years ago as a punk teenager wanting to watch the havoc got tear gassed by accident and watched as people were looting and rioting, i was just standing there smoking taking it all in...i've seen how people act in these smash and grab, only take what you can carry type riot events, you're invisible to them as long as you don't want what they want, if i have my BOB they can have whatever is in the store, i'm good to go...again though there are too many possibilities to say one way or another exactly what and or how it'll happen ..best thing we can do is have a plan and be adaptable.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

If you are going to need to bug out, doing so before anyone else has noticed the emergency would be a huge advantage, this would require having a plan in place and getting it done. If the perceiced emergency is less than thought chalk it up to a practice run and see what you learned. A simple text code to everyone on your "team" could alert others to the need to get out of dodge. and is almost instantanious.


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## chris88idaho (Apr 30, 2012)

Just seems strange you'd be in a spot now that's so tactically unsound your only recourse is to hit the road when tshtf. Wading through a riot with a bug out bag? Eek! 

Maybe consider selling the downtown penthouse now and move to where you feel safe. I mean even if you feel like you have a good job and everything, what good is it to be at such a disadvantage? Why live in a flood plane, next to a prison or nuclear reactor, on top of a volcano..

I dunno maybe I just don't get it. If you got a safe place in mind why not move there now?


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## Fn/Form (Nov 6, 2008)

Ration-AL said:


> IN MY OPINION:
> i think the riots are the best time to leave, you got your BOB and are ready togo, everyone else is going to be rioting the stores for supplies in a frenzy only paying attention to what is immediately around them and what's on the store shelves...
> i was in the WTO riots in seattle a number of years ago as a punk teenager wanting to watch the havoc got tear gassed by accident and watched as people were looting and rioting, i was just standing there smoking taking it all in...i've seen how people act in these smash and grab, only take what you can carry type riot events, you're invisible to them as long as you don't want what they want, if i have my BOB they can have whatever is in the store, i'm good to go...again though there are too many possibilities to say one way or another exactly what and or how it'll happen ..best thing we can do is have a plan and be adaptable.


Now you are the guy with a pack on your back and probably a firearm out of view. If you head the wrong direction (mistakenly thinking you are taking the best route), you may run into police. Even if you head the right direction police may think you have stolen the pack/are one of the prepared rioters. Then you are found with the firearm. Likely you will not escape mass detention/processing and possibly extended probing of character and... body. Gas mask, hydration and food bars would be smart, but again, what do you look like to cops if you're detained?

IMO, a deep urban prepper should pre-position supplies. Deep urban includes inner city commuters. Use a public storage rental closet if you must, the peace of mind would be well worth the $20/mo. Choose one that you can get to or make access to if unattended or otherwise locked down by staff. Put at least 72hr and protection items there. Keep a small Walk Out package at the inner city home or office so you can get to your preps; it's a good plan if a BOB is too high profile. You need to look respectable, but capable of handling yourself. Pack wrinkle-free button down shirt and chinos if you have to... along with the few tools you need to ensure access your storage unit. A firearm should be in deep concealment, completely out of view. I like the SmartCarry type of holsters for this, or maybe a Hawke Pak waist pack (built for firearms) since they don't look like gun packs.

To further complicate matters... most riots involve fire. Idiots looting and burning (intentional or otherwise) a downstairs shop or adjacent building will cause an immediate problem for you. Bugout time, and maybe at the worst time of all.

I remember reading Scott Reitz's account of his response to the LA Rodney King riots. People were shooting at the cops AND firefighters at all hours of the day and night. What do you suppose these social deviants will do to someone like you? As another poster mentioned, plan for dark hours, and plan for running into idiots.

I think it's best not to be there in the first place or get out ASAP. NO hunkering down unless there's a clear reason to. Bug out at the first signs of trouble. You could designate slightly out of town hotels for you and the family to head to. That way you're not dependent on communications that could be overloaded or commandeered by the authorities for control. A motel room is safety well spent at the sight of any developing trouble. $50 to $100 or more is cheap insurance, a plan and a much better decision making place.

My brother and I disagree on the timing; he believes in the "lull" period a day or three after a big event. I'd rather be out as soon as I know of anything potentially dangerous. I believe by a day or three there will be plenty of deviants taking advantage of the lawlessness. I heard the stories about contraflow evacuation traffic standstill, people running out of gas, no water/gas available, tempers flaring, fights, robberies, etc. It's bad enough when things are going OK. I won't be there to see it.


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

If you're forced to bug out, you can't beat a motorcycle or motorbike. You can go around any disabled vehicles or roadblocks. If you see a major problem up ahead you can easily turn around. You can go on sidewalks and over lawns. I think the vast majority trying to bug out on foot aren't going to survive.

It makes sense to find a good place to hide during the day when you're still on your way to your bug-out location. Where I live there are some nice heavily wooded areas in the middle of some highway clover leafs. That would work well if you have a motorcycle or you're on foot.


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