One thing apparent from preliminary report is the pilot was following highways for navigation & orientation as has already been discussed here. But having to do so for VFR flight seems to defeat some of the advantage of using a helicopter in the first place. Seems like a dog leg route needed to be followed, rather than a more direct (IFR) flight path, and then perhaps still without sufficient visual cues. EC130 cruise is around 120 knots, so 222 km/h or 138 mph. Taking a car may have doubled travel time but perhaps may have been safer in this instance.