If asked, most drivers could not identify the approximate mile mark of their whereabouts on a highway or roadway without spending a few minutes to locate landmarks and mile marker signs. This is an important advantage in most conceivable emergencies, especially those requiring immediate assistance from emergency service personnel (Holt, 2007). Likewise, situational awareness also means maintaining escape routes and avoiding circumstances where one's vehicle could be trapped in position, whether inadvertently by other drivers or purposely by potential criminals or terrorists (Holt, 2007; Larsen, 2007). At stop lights and signs, drivers should never pull up so close to the vehicle in front of them that they have no room to work with if a sudden emergency occurs requiring them to escape quickly.

As a general principle, drivers should always preserve their options as much as possible, which includes selecting lanes that permit spontaneous choices to make unplanned exits, choosing parking spots that cannot be easily blocked in, and always backing into parking lot spaces to enable rapid exit without reversing directions or performing three-point turns first (Holt, 2007). Safety in this area should also involve surveillance of parking facilities to identify available exits in advance and for the purpose of selecting well-lit parking spots and those in view of public areas instead of poorly lit areas in remote recesses of parking facilities (Holt, 2007).

Emergency Preparedness, Communications, and Evacuation Planning:

In the post-9/11 and post-Katrina environment, emergency preparedness means establishing advance plans for rendezvousing with family members and others in the vent that normal communications are disrupted by...

The 9/11 experience illustrated how easily telephone service can become unreliable, whether directly from the physical consequences of terrorist attack or other disasters, or simply as the secondary effect of overwhelmed circuits (Larsen, 2007). Therefore, preserving communications requires advance planning of rendezvous points in the event of the need to relocate immediately and establishing remote contact points (such as relatives living in distant states) so that individual family members can reach one another by relay if necessary (Larsen, 2007).
Other necessary elements of emergency preparedness and evacuation planning include packing emergency "go bags" containing essential things such as a sufficient supply of all prescription medications to last a week or more, copies of important personal papers such as insurance policies, deeds, wills, bank account information, and contact information for all family members. Within the home, the most important commodities during emergencies are those that enable "sheltering in place" (Larsen, 2007). Generally, that includes at least seven gallons of water per household member (a week's supply), first-aid kits, and batteries for flashlights, radios, and cell phones.