Are you ready for the Southland's first planned traffic nightmare, the closure of the 405 Freeway, aka Carmageddon?
405 Project Page: Maps, Detours, Tweets
City streets and canyon routes in the area are expected to be jammed.
"We're such a mobile community in Southern California, we've got to be prepared for the unexpected," said Pete Moraga, spokesman for the Insurance Information Network of California.
He's urging drivers to put together a mobile disaster kit.
"It can be as simple or complicated as you want to get," said Moraga. "Suppose you get stranded and have to sleep in your car, it would be nice to have a light blanket."
A mobile disaster kit can be just a small backpack, filled with some "must haves" for motorists:
- Battery-powered radio
- Work gloves, in case you have to work on your car
- Bottled water
- Food (snacks, especially high-energy bars)
- First-aid supplies (including Band-Aids)
- Paper maps
Yes, paper maps. Moraga said "people get caught up in GPS devices. But they need an old-school backup."
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"Best two weeks ever driving in Southern California happened during the 1984 Olympics. People stayed off the freeway," Moraga said.
"It might happen again."