'Civility stems from abundance' (?)

Remember the tales of 16-hour-plus trips on Texas highways when Houston and its southern suburbs were evacuated for Hurricane Rita? (Seems like ages, but was actually only a month ago.) Buried in this article about the sources of traffic snafus is this statement by one evacuee:

"Civility like generosity comes from abundance," Dyess (an evacuee) wrote. "People who believe they are in danger will lose their civility proportionately to their fear, regardless of how much education you give them. Do you really think evacuation is about altruism?" Dyess said. "No, it is every man for himself. When people in that situation are moved by tragedy that has happened to others, they will offer help, but only out of their abundance."

Wow, that statement speaks volumes. But I don't think it's a given that people in an evacutation behave selfishly. When tens of thousands of people headed out of Manhattan -- first on Sep. 11 and then, a few years later, in the massive blackout in 2004 -- there were many stories of people taking care of one another, of shopkeepers offering free water and even shoes. But those people were on foot. The Texans, by contrast, were in their cars, and you know how people's behavior (including mine) changes when they drive cars.

Previously: Texans freak at disorganized evacuation.