Your example of the broken ankle is irrelevent to the topic/conversation,as it presents a "problem" that has an obvious answer not related to the original question (answer: of course you will not be "penalized" for the delay caused by your injury). At no point did Akichow state that it was a mandate that I must get outta dodge by my permit exit date, rather she stated that the importance of the date is for search/safety reasons. Thus, IF I had broken my ankle and was unable to hobble out of the Zone by my exit date, perhaps it would alert my friends/family that there was an issue and they would come find me, bring crutches and all would be well. System worked.
The exit date as explained serves as much as a safety device as it does to keep the traffic moving. What it is not is a penalty device (unless, of course, one decides to stay for 3 years like they do in the National Forests)
Thanks again, Akichow, for clarifying the point.
