an obvious space alien driving a ford focus

I think you mean Ford Prefect, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't drive, but he's a hoopy frood who always knows where his towel is.

So this was before cell phones, and I'll bet the landlines got knocked out by the quake, so yeah, in the immediate aftermath, you'd have no idea if your family was ok until you raced home to check on them. Makes perfect sense they wouldn't stop to take the shit off first.

other motorists on the road "Oh sh**! There must be a really big gas leak!"