Getting robbed at a truck stop

There is no clear cut "right answer" to this...the right thing to do is gonna vary from person to person depending on various things.

With that said...avoiding likely places is the best plan (but its not 100%), I know this from experience.

The tire thumper is a good idea sometimes, but if the robber is armed with a pistol the tire thumper is useless.

If you have a pistol and are unwilling (unprepared mentally) to use it...it is also useless and will get you killed.

I have often spoken in support of well armed drivers...and will continue to do so, but I will also urge them to seek proper training with their chosen weapon.

 

A few problems with this, but my situation is most likely different than yours. I cross an international border regularly (canada). I've had my truck searched by US DHSCABP officers before (aka border patrol, lol....). They pretty much just got in my sleeper and looked under my blankets to make sure i didnt have any canadians hiding in my sleeper, OK. But you can't hide a gun very well if it's going to be where you can just grab it and use it on a moments notice, and if i cant do that, theres no point in having it.

Yes, that search was totally unconstitutional. I wasn't even asked for permission. I was told to get out of the truck and told that they were going to search it. What am i gonna do? If i say no they wont let me in the country!

And when you're actually in canada, your constitutional rights completely go out the window because...our constitutional rights only work in OUR country...obviously. And we all know what canada thinks about self defense, and we all know how stupid some of their laws and penalties are.

I've also had my truck searched by Werner. They were checking up on all the dollar general drivers to deter theft. DG makes them do it, basically.

So i simply cant carry a gun.

Also, there really isnt any reason to anyway. There are legal alternatives that will do just as good at stopping criminals. They might not KILL them, but they'll stop them. And honestly, killing people just involves too much paperwork...even if they deserve it.

And what would werner say if i killed someone with a gun i had in their truck when its clearly against their policies? They're not going to say "welll if you didnt do it he wouldve killed you, so...OK. good job. heres your load". No, they're going to fire my ###. And screw my dac up.

Sadly pepper spray isnt even legal everywhere. It sucks. Safety department doesnt even want us to have anything unsecured in our truck while we drive..so that rules out tire thumpers. I have a 4 D maglite next to my drivers seat though. I probably won't kill with it. But I sure will give a good ### whoopin with it. That's the one thing that i did not listen to safety about having out while im driving. Honestly, i need access to it at a moments notice for finding customers anyway. Sometimes you just plain have to shine a flashlight on the house numbers on peoples houses to see if youre even in the right block!

Sadly i put dollar general batteries in it and now its not even heavy. LOL. And i dont own a tire thumper! I use an air gauge!

 

to each their own. What is right for one is not the same for everybody. I don't work for a big company and I am not a company driver. Plus I don't leave my own coutry anymore. Do what makes you happy and makes you feel safe. And I will do the same.

 

I think a crack in the head with a tire thumper would detour a thief but I prefer to watch where i stay out especially when i am around atlanta

 

Look, I'd love to have a gun. it just aint an option. I feel safe because I do have things to use as weapons.

If i was an owner op i'd be armed. I wouldnt go to canada in the truck. However, i will still leave the country on personal business...just cause i can.

 

Well, consider this... the next time you're walking around the truckstop, look at the truckers around you. Then ask yourself, "Self, would I really feel SAFE, if I knew that guy over there could legally walk around with a gun?"

Some of our fellow truckers on the face of it, not the kind of folks I'd like to see armed! Now imagine its dark, you're walking between a row of trucks, and that guy hops out of his truck PO'd, a bit wild eyed, and has that gun in his hand. Not exactly a situation I'd like to be in.

Next, considering our image to the public, imagine what a traffic stop would be like on a dark, deserted road if the cops knew with certainty that they were dealing with an armed trucker. Especially a trucker-hating cop. That's something I really don't want to go through.

I think that the level of lethality when it comes to me and my fellow truckers is just fine as is. Give me a tire thumper any day.

 

Would you feel the same way if one of "us truckers" that happnes to legally carry happened to come between a row of trucks and happen to see you or your wife being attacked and we just so happened to have our weapon on our side and pulled it and saved you/your wife's life or at least saved you a good beating and robbing? Just curious. This can be debated back and forth over and over but the fact is that no matter what anybody thinks we all have the right to carry as we see fit. I know a lot of people that get judged just like you stated in your post because the way they look but the fact is they would stand up for anybody any day of the week and are some of the best people you could ever meet. Oh and BTW they also legally carry at all times.

 

I get robbed every time I go in a truck stop!

 

It's your option to not buy that over priced crap...So the analogy doesn't really fit.

Go to Wal Mart, You can get the same crap...Cheaper!