SURVIVAL EXPERT: Tim MacWelch’s Approach

Prep

The sprawling public transportation system of New York City safely moves over 1-billion people a year, but with the threat of a terrorist attack in my mind I’d think long and hard whether to ride a subway car with that looming threat. Sure, more people die every year from automobile accidents than train wrecks and terrorist attacks combined — so much so that car accident fatalities rarely make the news. But that doesn’t mean that I’d be eager to get into a crowded underground facility with limited exit strategies.

In my preparation, job one is to study the subway transit system. Learn its routes, its safety procedures, and escape routes, with particular attention to obvious bottlenecks or other points that would hinder evacuation.

My second specific piece of