Zombie Scenario: What Would You Do During a Zombie Attack in Traffic?

Author: ZAC Admin
Submitted: 02 Apr 2008
Filed under: Scenario & Mobile Defense & Safety & Zombie Awareness & Safety Council

31 Responses to “Zombie Scenario: What Would You Do During a Zombie Attack in Traffic?”

1. Ivory Legend on 03 Apr 2008 at 12:23 pm #

   Wow. lets hope this scenario dosent happen. But, if it did getting out of the car is immediate. Staying in it makes no sense mainly because even if you did escape and turn around, now you are going the wrong way on a highway. getting killed by accidents are just as problematic as getting killed by zombies. So, I would get the hell out of the car, take any improvised hand weapon with me and get off of the highway going the opposite way. From there, head to the nearest and most defensable location (families, relatives house, apartment complex, etc) whereever can be defeneded. From there, get supplies and stock up. Call your family let them know whats going on and have them hunker down too. Create a time and place in the distant future where you will meet up when the initial outbreak is over. Needless to say, this situation by far is the worst yet. Adapting and rolling with the punches is the best defense that one could hope to have.

2. Rene Dupree on 03 Apr 2008 at 1:35 pm #

   I remember reading about this particular scenario in World War Z [Page 69; “Pernell Air National Guard Base: Memphis, Tennessee, USA”] where gridlock traffic filled a major freeway, trapping many civilians in their vehicles where they became canned food for the undead that swarmed over the vehicles. Living in Miami, due to hurricanes and floods, many of our freeways and highways are elevated for safety reasons.

   I don’t have a vehicle of my own, for my situation I’ll say that I would be using my parents car. I turn on my radio, and all I hear is the panicked voice of a reporter above the scene in a news chopper, reporting on the masses of Infected ravaging down the same stretch of highway that I’m on. The traffic is bumper to bumper, panicked citizens hearing the same report on their radios are ramming into each other, honking their horns, and generally just losing it.

   My first action would be to take a deep breath. Clear my mind and get zen before I do what I know will need to be done in order for me to survive this. I begin grabbing all essential items within the vehicle. Once again, due to the high number of hurricanes down here, our family station wagon (no need to waste time getting out to get to the trunk, everything is accessibly from the vehicle interior) has emergency items such as bottled water, cellphone and charger, waterproof matches, a flashlight, etc. I’d put it all in my bag and grab one of the most important things needed for my continued survival: The trusty Tire Iron - aka, my zombie brain bashing weapon.

   Once I get everything I’ll need for my trek, I would roll down the passenger’s side window and climb out to get onto the roof of the car. In this elevated position, I would be able to get a better view of my situation, environment, and correlate my observations with that of the news reports. From here, I’d see which direction most of the major panic is issuing from, or if in sight, what directions the zombies themselves are coming from. I’d have to hop from car roof to car roof (or hoods, trunks, etc) just as long as I stay off of the ground where there might be a crawler (zombie without legs) or two or risk of someone ramming into me and make it to an off ramp since many of our freeways are walled in as well as being elevated.

   Speed would be my closest ally. I would need to get off of the highway, and stopping to engage zombies would only slow down my progress. Avoidance, evasion, and agility are my best bet. Once safely off of the highway, down the off ramp, and a good distance away, would i be able to call my loved ones or friends. Most likely the cell towers would be overflooded with people doing the same. Texting them would be my next option.

   Being the pessimist that I am, I would conclude that neither option would work and I could not get a hold of anyone near and dear to me. That means I’d have to trek home (or any place known to me in close distance- ie friends home, relatives apartment, etc) on foot (hopefully I’d find a bike), using less crowded side streets and small roadways to get there. While traveling on foot, I would always be on the look out for alternate means of transportation as well as defensible locations of other places of interest that I could scrounge supplies, weapons, or equipment while presenting the least amount of danger to myself.

   Once again, since the outbreak would be in the early stages where panicked civilians and small roving hordes of the undead crowded the streets, speed, stealth, and evasion would be my best weapon. Keeping a cool head, and common sense saves lives. Particularly your own.

3. Scotty on 03 Apr 2008 at 3:00 pm #

   Fortunately for me the place I’m most likely to get stuck in traffic is just about two miles from a small private airport. It’d be really easy to get there and charter/steal/hijack a plane and get to safety. Otherwise I think the best bet would be to call someone to pick you up on a nearby street. head out on a path perpendicular to the highway and find a parallel street on which you can get picked up. Then it’s just a matter of rounding up your guns and heading for the country.

4. The Doctor on 03 Apr 2008 at 10:16 pm #

   due to my MZPK in the car i would grab that. try to get as far away from the highway as possible(being in Nebraska the highways are on the ground with no sides. farms all around. hurray for gun toting rednecks. find an empty house, barricade the windows, find melee weapon, more ammo for my gun from my pack. try to get in contact with other people. if any are in the area in a more defensible location/need help and go there/help them. After main outbreak occurs i will go to a military base there are a few around here. stock up on weapons or stay with them if there are alive there.

5. Twilight on 04 Apr 2008 at 1:18 pm #

   If I were trapped in traffic during a Zed outbreak my first action would be to break out my MZP Kit and get out of the area if its safe too, its better to be moving than stuck in a vehicle that isn’t able to move.

   If I can I’ll comandeer an empty vehicle if the pathway is clear to escape it in from the Zeds
   Then I’ll get to the closest safe building or my home to fortify against the outbreak, provided my home and family are not overun before I reach it.

6. Platinum on 09 Apr 2008 at 10:47 am #

   Living in a rural area gives me many more options than the poor urban / suburban residents. I do travel occasionally to cities and urban sprawl and should I find myself stuck in traffic amidst a zombie breakout, I feel my reaction would be:

   If escaping in my vehicle was not a viable option, abandon the vehicle and get away from glut of traffic and soon-to-be new victims.
   Appropriate supplies and ammunition (I always carry my .45acp with me, with some ammo…..however you never know if enough ammo is truly enough….I’d hate to be just one clip short, if you know what I mean). Contact family ASAP and have them follow our preset disaster plan. Attempt to reach family and secure their (and my) safety through whatever means necessary.

   Basic, simple, and to the point. I don’t need anything fancy, just the health and well-being of my family.

   And yes, I’d take the tire-iron, too. A last-ditch weapon is better than no weapon at all.

7. sean on 09 Apr 2008 at 12:30 pm #

   well i drive a 1978 volkwagen van so i usually stay the hell away from traffic jams [air cooled engine]
   and i live in a small city so the only likely traffic jam would me along the malahat to get out of the city when fleeing a zombie migration to the area/city i live in.if i was surrounded by zombies however and was not tipped over or had the HUGE FRICKEN windshield broken into i could comfortably survive in there for weeks with all the food water stove and beds i have in there as well as my crossbow that i keep under the bench seat because my mom won’t let me keep it in the house,as well as the more dangerious things that she won’t let me keep in the house such as my chain saw my axe my machete.

8. Undeadmuffin on 09 Apr 2008 at 5:35 pm #

   Well, I always have water and food in my car. In fact at this time I have four gals of water, a box of crackers, two jars of peanut butter and some odd and ends of candy. But all that is in the trunk, so I would have to get out of my car at some point and time. I have a 93′ Mercury cougar… to my knowledge there is no way from the back seat to the trunk.

   I digress. Things that I could get to inside the cab of the car are things such as a ice scrapper (metal), a few screwdrivers and one of those window breaker things so if your car goes off into the water… So as far as weapons go, I think I could be well equipped. Granted that I would have to dispatch the undead at a very close range, I would still be safer if I didn’t have anything.

   Now what I would do to get out of the mess is empty out my backpack I keep all my writing and art stuff in and do my best to make it to the trunk. Slip in as much food and water as I can with out getting bitten or rammed by another car. I’d make sure I have my keys and kiss old Gregg (the car) good bye, as I climb up on top of it and make my way home going from roof top to roof top.

   Seeing as that the undead have a hard time climbing, I would have a better advantage. Hell, I would have food and water, so if I needed I could find and semi and climb up on top and rest for the night, (if traffic is that bad!).

   At least thats what I would do if I was alone. If my girlfriend was with me, It would pretty much be the same thing. Just having an extra set of eyes to keep watch over the undead with me, would make things all the better. Besides, you can make food last for two a long time when its peanut butter.

9. Ivory Legend on 10 Apr 2008 at 8:16 pm #

   http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_8827758 just an fyi to people here. its a joke as it describes later, but its still something you guys might be interested in.

10. Bones McMahon on 11 Apr 2008 at 1:15 am #

    Well this scenario is basically the worst possible scenario that i can think of asside from receiving a bite. Traffic… for starters i find it hard to believe that I would even be in this situation… traffic where i live IS bad at times but i avoid it most often (i just dont go out during high traffic periods) AND i never have to cross bridges which is where the traffic gets the worst. Plus i just wouldn’t be driving anywhere in the slightest zombie out break possibility… if i knew about it. But let’s say for the sake of argument that i was stupid or caught unaware.

    First i wouldnt even think about calling anyone, the last thing i want on my mind is the “concern” of others. Zombies as far as i am concerned is a free for all situation and I dont need help from anyone i know unless they are with me… although knowledge is power so i would probably listen to the radio (the traffic station) for whatever i could glean while gathering supplies from my car…. which will basically only include a tire iron unless there is something better. Keep my carrying capacity low so as to remain fast as possible.

    Getting off the road and to safety is the second most important course of action… the first is KNOWING the best route. Road map to plan it or knowledge on the area… for me i know my routes, but avoiding zombies is paramount. Get up high to get a view and a tactical advantage over things trying to get you… striking the head is easier from on high so roof tops semi’s or buses etc…

    I dont trust my ability to run tirelessly away from the undead so i would either get to an immediate sanctuary and hold up OR find a bike or suitable vehicle and go off road. If this means taking someone out that already has a bike so be it… im a solopist so im more important than you.

11. Blitz Haigen on 14 Apr 2008 at 7:08 pm #

    Well, one would say that the best plan would be to prepare the car beforehand.

    Now, this is entirely hypothetical considering the difficulty of my next several thoughts, but bear with me.

    So, the first thing I would do is to search my car for any nooks and crannies to stash weapons. I would make sure I had a concealed carry license for each firearm and blade and, if possible, for any explosives or pyrotechnics I might stash. I would say that you should probably then put together a zombie survival kit to keep in the trunk and put it as far in as possible so that I could pull the back seats out and grab it if the need arises. This kit should at least have an extensive first aid kit, a razor sharp non-serrated combat knife, a pistol that you can handle, pistol rounds, a basic survival kit, emergency rations, flares, shelter/proper clothes and some kind of armor, and whatever else might be needed to suit your particular environment.

    Now, once the zombies get there (assuming this is sudden and unexpected) you need to get as far away as possible and warn some high up organization of the oncoming assault (if they’ll listen). If you can’t get away, get out of the way of cars, lock all the doors and make sure the windows are up, locked, and that your car is turned off. This will save gas in case you should need it later on. Quickly pull out your weapons and kit, if possible and brace for the oncoming wave. Depending on the zombie type and what condition they’re in, you might be better off running, but that only affords you a slim chance at best. The thing you’ll want to do next is call 911. This may sound crazy, but a sudden influx of 911 calls about zombies on the highway ought to trigger some kind of response.

    You now get to decide what you are going to do. You can wait for help, locked inside your car and well stocked, which is probably the best idea.

    You can run and try to escape, but you will more than likely be caught and eaten or end up in some other exhausted, defenseless scenario.

    Or, you could go commando on the motherf*ckers and more than likely get bitten, eaten, zombified, etc., etc., etc.

    However, if we are supposing a completely unprepared you in this scenario, then you need to grab anything you absolutely need and run like you’ve never run before. That is no condition to hole up or fight in.

    -Blitz Haigen

12. Jediwannabe on 17 Apr 2008 at 6:16 pm #

    Dude.. this probably sounds weird, but I hope Zombies DO attack someday. I’m 16 yrs old now, if they attack when I’m like 25-35 yrs old… in a weird kind of way… I’ll be happy. I don’t want to live to be more than like 70-75, cause this whole planet is too much of an unorganized shit-hole to live more than that in, and I think defending me and my family against zombies would be f*ucking AWESOME.

13. The Doctor on 18 Apr 2008 at 10:29 pm #

    jedi i honestly agree with you.

14. Ivory Legend on 19 Apr 2008 at 6:38 pm #

    yea, jedi i agree with you. different motavation though, the world has gone to shit, looking at statistics, oil wont last much longer and im pretty sure most our natural resources are being depleted extremely quick and its because of the large population that keeps growing. Zombies would be a serious weeding out of the stupid, idiotic and more or less useless (yea, its cold but its honest). Millions of innocents would die, but there would be enough resources for the rest of the world then. But yea, zombies, if given enough warning or at least time to prepare would not be as bad as a lot of people think. Anyone who dosent agree with me, thats fine. But think about it next time your out buying gas…

15. Platinum on 19 Apr 2008 at 10:34 pm #

    Something to watch while in traffic.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjMiDZIY1bM

16. eric on 23 Apr 2008 at 7:49 pm #

    Ivory and Jedi. I disagree. Yes, the Earth looks likes it’s in rough shape and the human race looks pretty rotten, but look at the big picture. Compare ourselves now to where we were only a few hundred years ago. Racism is now seen as a problem that we’re dealing with and weeding out instead of everyday business as usual. Women have all the same rights as men do, (at least in most of Europe and North America) medical research is making countless breakthroughs into curing mental and physical disabilities. War happens far less and far fewer innocents are killed in them. We may be in for rough times ahead but the solution isn’t a mass mindless genocide, it’s natural selection. Those who adapt to the new earth we make will continue, those who do not, will not. We are finding more and more oil free options for energy. Go back as little as 100 years and coal was the main source of energy and now we have biomass, solar, nuclear, wind hydro… imagine where we’ll be in another century. Zombies would not eliminate the stupid and useless, it would be an increase of them. Everyone who was already stupid would become even worse and the intelligent people who were unlucky or self sacrificing would be zombies too. Mainly the most cutthroat, violent and self serving would survive a zombie outbreak, not the good people. Who has a better chance against an undead horde; a violent nutjob with no problems with murder and a huge gun closet or an average charity worker who cares about the community, carries no weapons or armor and would hesitate to attack another human being even if they might be undead? A zombie outbreak would be a bad thing.

    That said, if I was caught on the highway during an outbreak I’d assume the horde was on the move since available food would be running away and therefore they would only be passing through instead of lingering like they might in other areas. Therefore I would hide in the trunk with the access hatch to the inside of my car open for air and wait out the attack. Remember, zombies are less capable than an average human, if they see an empty car they might look to see if somebody is on the ground but they’ll hardly disassemble every car on the highway during a traffic jam just in case somebody might be in there, they’ll go for the more readily available food.

17. Ivory Legend on 24 Apr 2008 at 12:51 pm #

    eric, you raise a lot of valid points and for verification i am not wanting a “zombie” solution to live like a hermit so much as a way to deal with the mass amounts of people we seem to continue to develop in today’s society. We have made leaps and bounds in science and technology and that is wonderful and increases the living standard for those that benefit from it the problem arises when the better living causes humans to continue to develop and thrive. If humans continue to develop at the rate they are, there will be nothing left for those of us alive to live on. Its much like deer. When they are overpopulated, everyone suffers. So yes, allowing women to vote and getting rid of racism and having economic cars are all wonderful but what happens when there is no space for anyone to live, no food to grow and people start dying then? I guess thats the original point i wanted to address. Overpopulation. You make a mention of only the self-serving and cut throat living. That has 2 possibilities for rebuttal. !) either you agree that being cutthroat and self serving is better for surviving and while you don’t like the idea, you agree that those people have a higher chance for survival/ or possible there is a bit of pessimism in your outlook on life or 2) you forget that those who are self serving and selfish are unlikely to bind together like those who generally care and people who work well together like a community, look at ancient tribes. Their whole reason for being together was for survival. Even those like the Pilgrims ,who came over for religion, went in groups for protection. And for a point of note, there wont ever be a way to completely eliminate the stupid and weak in natural selection. Luck is a factor as much as anything else and so it is unfortunate but is ultimately impossible.

18. eric on 24 Apr 2008 at 1:40 pm #

    Ivory. Overpopulation is not a problem. A lot of people think it is, but it really isn’t. Yeah, eventually, a LONG time from now it might be, but with the invention of apartments and condos we can fit a huge number of people in a very small area. Our ability to produce food is likewise growing. The concept behind the green roof program can allow us to grow food above other food we are growing. We are also through genetic engineering and new farming practices able to get much more food out of the same amounts of plants. Our cities are crowded but there is plenty of empty space to branch into and I’m sure we’ll start going underground and underwater as well as even higher up when it becomes feasible to do so. Other species are going to die off, a lot of them but that will give US more space to grow, but that’s how evolution works, those who can’t adapt, die.
    As for the cut throat and violent surviving, I stick to my conviction that in a zombie infestation free for all scenario the crazy gun nuts are going to have an advantage. The paranoid and intolerant people in gated communities? advantage. The sane and rational people who don’t practice shooting and beating things up and don’t feel a need to fortify themselves inside? strong disadvantage. At least for the first month or so while everything is in chaos we’ll be losing a lot of scientists, charity workers, children (children’s inabilty to defend themselves and keep up with adults would also be a major problem and we’d lose most of the next generation) and other useful and productive members of society. Eventually when safe communities are formed then being a good person will come into play again but even then, the people with the weapons to hold off the zombies are going to be calling the shots and whoever has that many weapons on them probably shouldn’t be trusted to be holding that much power.
    Dictatorships and fear based communities will grow. and after all the zombies are dealt with all we’ve done is stall for time. Give us another couple centuries and we’ll be right back where we are now populationwise only with all the knowledge and medicine we had to destroy and leave behind lost until new minds can think it up. We’ll be back in the dark ages but with bigger guns and more paranoia. We can’t just kill people off to solve population problems, we need to find a way to stabilize the population and provide for the new larger numbers, which we’re doing.
    I’m not saying that natural selection will eliminate the stupid and weak, I’m saying that a z day situation would just make more of the stupid and the weak into stronger and stupider people.

19. Ivory Legend on 24 Apr 2008 at 4:41 pm #

    i appreciate your optimism but the entire concept of over population stems not directly from food but from energy. the amount of energy to make the food specifically. of all fertilizer, 70% of it is petroleum based. currently the cost of food is based on the amount of energy that goes into the growing. as for cattle, it costs about 30 gallons of oil per head of cattle. . . are you going to tell me that in the middle of an energy criss overpopulation is not an issue due to the improvements of condos?

    And you keep bringing up the issue about “innocents, weak, charity workers….” Those people as being useful to humanity is only a matter of personal opinion. Without the needy, we don’t need charity workers. And everyone will always be needy for something and so saying those people are needed is irrevelant. Children, yea thats more of an issue. But again, its gonna happen. A huge energy crisis WILL happen. Zombies, unlikely but regardless many of the same tactics could be used. And so death will happen. Death will happen. On a large scale or not.

20. eric on 25 Apr 2008 at 3:16 pm #

    There’s already been a huge energy crisis, there were few to no zombie survival scenarios. Here’s what’ll happen, the rich will keep on going as if nothing happened and the poor will become more miserable. That’s it. Also, as I’ve stated, in only 100 years we’ve developed ethanol, solar cells, biomass, geothermal systems, nuclear power, more useful turbines, greenroof systems etc. What makes you think we wont find another dozen or so in the next hundred years? That’s been my point all along, we are progressing at the most rapid rate ever and it’s speeding up. Humans 5000 years ago are closer to Neanderthals than they are to us. We are making phenomenal leaps and bounds in every field including food and energy. There’ll be a rough patch when we first run out of oil and have to start converting to other methods but we’ll do it, and easily. We are the most amazingly adaptive and tenacious species on the planet. We survived the black plague for christ sakes and that was with almost no medical knowledge. All of which is beside the point because even if we do run out of energy it STILL will be better than a zombie scenario which, as I stated before, will not solve the problem but delay it and make it even worse the next time around. I’m hardly an optimist, I’ve just seen what humans have pulled off this far and see no reason why we won’t continue along the same path.

21. Ivory Legend on 27 Apr 2008 at 2:26 pm #

    Alright. So it seems to me that this argument is going in circles. You seem set on championing humanity and the wonderful accomplishments in the last few years. I think those accomplishments mean nothing in the face of what is in store. You think that humans will soldier on when we run out of oil and it will be nothing more than a “speedbump” on the road of life while I think it will be more like a jack knifed semi-truck that will hit humans. I think that people, while trying to pretend to deal with the coming energy crisis, mainly put it off and wont pay any attention until it is on our doorstep. I feel that nothing that is being done is funded enough or is seriously considered. You think that humanities current technology is a serious attempt to manage a situation and will be able to handle it fine. I know I am right and im sure you think your right too. Needless to say, you and I dont seem like we will agree. When looking at the issue, metaphorically, you say “Lets use our big giant twig-picker-upper so we can save the forest.” I say “That machine isn’t gonna work, screw it, lets just start a forest fire and that will handle the whole ‘dry twig’ issue.” I guess the argument focuses a lot on ethics, which is another varying issue. You seem to think each life is precious and I would vote you most likely to enter a burning building to save a kitten. Id buy a new kitten and think risking myself for that is stupid. Im a pretty selfish person (unless it comes to certain close friends) and im sure you care alot about people in general. To sum it up, you give to the salvation army at Christmas, I throw the change in a fountain and make a wish. So, I suppose I will save you a seat in my apocalypse bunker in my backyard and so long as you dont mind coming over and knocking on it should we,which I still doubt, end up being ok.

22. eric on 27 Apr 2008 at 11:07 pm #

    Kittens can go die in a fire and I have no desire to replace mine or save it. If I don’t know you as a friend then you can go to hell and charity for the most part is a waste of time and disrupts natural selection. Also, you throw your change in a fountain and make a wish? really? because I save my change for something with a realistic chance of doing fucking anything for me.
    I say we use a series of controlled burns to keep the twigs in check while not demolishing an entire ecosystem then we let nature do the whole controlled burns for us like it has for the entirety of history, but I guess I’m something of a pragmatist that way. This has nothing to do with ethics. This has to do with common sense. Who would be better off after a zombie apocalypse? Nobody? that’s right. Nobody. Unless you know how to process crude oil into a usable form you better damn well hope a couple OPEC countries don’t get wiped out. Do you know how to treat an inflamed appendix? No? Then you better hope some of your local doctors don’t get bitten. Know how to build or fix a car? Know how to hunt and gather your own food? Know how to farm? Know how to not be among the fist to contract the zombie virus? no? Then you better think twice buddy. In case of an energy crisis I can be sure I can help my friends. A zombie case I might have to kill them. When has genocide ever ended well? I’m not championing humanity, we are a virus. But we’re the best one out there. We are the HIV of the macroscopic organisms. We’ll kill every other living thing on this planet and deplete half of the non living ones before we give up the ghost. America may be going into a tailspin of death of destruction but I don’t live in America, I live in one of the many prosperous socialist countries in Western world where we learn to cooperate for the greater good. And the rest of the western world is a lot more forward thinking than you guys are. Hell Brazil is almost completely oil free, has been for years. If they can pull it off I’m pretty sure we can.

23. Ivory Legend on 28 Apr 2008 at 12:24 pm #

    I think i cried a bit there…*puts tissue box down* eric….that was beautiful. “Oh kleenex, how you comfort in a trying time…” You have a point about people that matter and now you mention doctors, farmers, and whatnot I agree that they are valuable. And if you live in a prosperous socialist Western country…where can I sign up? Once again though, I do believe that we are screwed I still maintain that there is a seat here in my apocalypse bunker with the name “eric” written on it taped to a lawn chair. I suppose the only way to really see who is right is to wait a few years.

24. Ivory Legend on 28 Apr 2008 at 12:26 pm #

    —oh, while Im thinking about it, the whole point of this argument was that a zombie infection would IN FACT be a natural selection——-

25. Cathrag on 13 May 2008 at 1:52 pm #

    Back on topic, the “climb across the roofs of cars” would be a double-edged sword.

    On the plus side, it’d really be the only quick way to move. If you’re on a motorway and it’s packed, chances are you’re going to have to move for quite some distance before you can get anywhere you might stand a chance, such as a town or a motorway service station (Which might actually make a good place to hole up for a short time). So, you’d have to hop along the top of the traffic. It’d also give you a good position to fight from - while the zombies are reaching up to try and grab your legs, you can either kick them away or smash them with your chosen weapon. If you have a gun, even better, you have an ideal shooting platform.

    On the other hand, it’s dangerous for you. Cars aren’t that high off the ground - most of the zombies will still be able to reach for you. If you’re not quick enough or you get caught off-guard and surrounded, you’re going to be pulled down and you’re done for. If you’re moving at speed it’s easy to slip and fall - not all cars are flat and easy to run across. For another thing, on the roof of a car you’re easily visible. If a zombie sees you from a long way away, and there aren’t other targets available for it, it’s going to come towards you and not stop until it’s reached you. If there are a lot around, running across cars wouldn’t be too wise.

    In my opinion, once you have your supplies together and you’re ready to run, you should move along the motorway until you find a truck - something with a wide wheelbase and a lot of weight, like your average cargo truck, so that it can’t be easily tipped - and use the nearby cars to help you climb onto the roof of the trailer. If you’ve gone undetected, you can probably lie down on the roof and any zombies in the area won’t spot you because of the height of the truck and you being flattened down. And if you do have to fight, the zombies will be too busy trying to tip your truck to stop you from shooting them or smashing them with your blunt object.

    When you finally need to escape, something to look out for would be any junctions leading off the motorway. These should probably be empty, since some people will have escaped via them and everyone else would have stayed on the motorway and tried to flee on foot. As a result, you look for any car which is pointing towards the exit, hope the keys are still in the ignition, check that there are no zombies inside, hop in, and escape off the motorway.

    Hopefully you might survive that way.

26. That Guy on 08 Jun 2008 at 7:57 pm #

    what kind of zombies are we talking about? Like “28 days” later zombies? Or stupid “Dead Rising” zombies? First Question.

27. Maingun on 12 Jun 2008 at 3:01 pm #

    Well this is unfortunate!-
    I would have to say this leaves you with two semi- survivable options:
    Option #1-
    * - If you are in bumper to bumper gridlock traffic take a quick look around and you will probably see a tractor trailer of some kind in the immediate vicinity. this should be your destination ( no offense but the idea of being on top of your car mere inches away from a flesh eating zombie horde is probably not going to..um work!). Grab what you can (thats light enough to take with you) to survive, i.e-
    *- A weapon ( hopefully a firearm!) or anything you can find that can be used with some authority ,tire iron,car jack, ice scraper etc.
    *- Any useful supplies, food, water, flashlight (can be used to signal for help even if batteries run out as the lens will reflect light).
    *- Cell phone (to communicate your position/situation), and car
    keys (yes- car keys) if your able to “weather the storm” you
    will need them to drive out of there. Also be sure to lock your
    car when you depart for your tractor trailer oasis to prevent
    unwanted entry to your vehicle.
    Once this is done its time to make/fight your way to the truck
    (again-this possible scenario assumes your car is not totally-
    surounded…yet!)- if your presence has not yet been detected it
    will be best to stay low and weave your way throw the vehicles
    to your destination to avoid detection.
    If you have been detected your only remaining option will be to
    leap/run from the top of the vehicles until you can get close
    enough to the rig to make a jump for it. the key to survival in
    this situation will not be speed but to maintain your balance.
    you can use your own imagination what will happen to you if you
    are trying to move too fast and end up falling off!
    Approach the rig from the cab end as this is the only feasible
    way to gain access to the top of the trailer which should be your
    ultimate goal. Most road trailers have only a small difference in
    height from the top of the cab to the trailer, if you have the
    misfortune of picking one with a higher than usual trailer
    you should be able to use the trucks utility connections for
    electrical and air/refrigiration at the back of the cab/front of the
    trailer to climb on. Once on top you are pretty much safe from
    the horror on the ground level. Try to stay to the center of the
    trailer down low and hopefully they will eventually move on to
    better feeding ground when they can no longer see you for an
    extended period of time, if they do not you can feel fairly safe
    in your new position as it is all but impssible for them to reach
    you and should be easily defendable even with simple improvised
    weapons. All that remains now is to try alert someon of your
    situation/location to be rescued.
    Keep trying your cell phone to do this, in the event your cell
    phone battery has died or you cant get a signal- nearly all rigs
    private or commercial are equipped with citizen band (cb)-
    radios hopefully the driver was kind enough to leave the keys
    but even if he/she did not most of these units are wired direct
    and do not need the ignition on to operate. Simply select
    channel #9 and call for help. they will most likely ask your
    position so take note of the nearest highway signs to assist them
    in locating you.
    Nice job!

    Option #2.
    *- Hopefully this is not the situation you find yourself in as it is
    probably the least survivable of the two mentioned.
    *- In this scenario your car is completely surrounded and
    leaving your car is not feasible.
    More than likely you are driving a car that has access to the
    trunk from the back seat, be sure to lock all doors and roll up
    all windows if you have not done so already, grab your cell
    phone and anything you might be able to use for a weapon or to
    survive (do not forget items you might not normally consider-
    in a survival situation ie- fast food bags, that 1/4 bottle of
    water you threw in the back seat last week etc.)
    In this situation “out of sight out of mind” is your only defense!
    For the first hour or so after seeking refuge in the trunk and
    “re-closing” the access seat- remain motionless and quiet.
    Although tempting refuse the urge to call for help on your cell
    phone as this will alert the brain eaters of your presence.
    Your best hope will be that after losing sight of you for a while
    they will move on to a new feeding area.
    When and only when the frenzy moves on should you attempt
    to call for help on your cell phone.
    Stay alert, stay quiet…
    Good luck- you will need it!

28. zachophobe on 06 Jul 2008 at 4:27 pm #

    you just gave me the chills after imagining staying curled up in a dark small area listening carefully for any sign of the living dead. man I’m gonna have nightmares

29. jacob on 19 Jul 2008 at 8:29 am #

    you are pretty much screwed unless u have the balls to get a solid object and start swinging or try the killing zombie and rubbing sent on you is pretty much your only wya

30. -- on 29 Sep 2008 at 9:26 pm #

    Best chance: hope zombies get traffic to move. Otherwise, pray that the zombies are coming in only one direction and run.

31. Dr Who on 22 Oct 2008 at 11:20 am #

    Really, I think that the zombies, once having found food, will circle and try to get it. Slowly going insane, running out of food and water, and caught ontop a semi rig isn’t my idea of a way to go. Find yourself a motorcycle. They have several advantages, you can ride between cars to get off the freeway, then once on surface roads, there are sidewalks, parking lots, ditches, and all sorts of places that you can go that a car can’t. I know I’ve had enough tickets for it when I still had a motorcycle. Plus they have the added advantage of using less fuel. Once out of the major traffic and into areas that aren’t gridlocked you can get into a vehicle that does offer some protection. That’s the trade off, nothing to keep the zeds off you if you get caught off guard. Speed and mobility are the only advantages you will have. But with skill and a little luck (we’ll ALL have to have some of that) your bike will get you to safety.

    “Zed’s dead baby, Zed’s dead.” - Butch

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