Firearms N The Road

You act like that's the only situation where someone would need to have a gun. The CCW courses are real good at informing you of how to be ready and when to pull. Perhaps you wouldn't have been in a COE. Maybe you could have hit him with the door, but he would have held on to the semi, giving you time to pull your weapon. I think the hassle of dealing with the police might be worth your life in such a case.

 

Ok, so he holds on, he's still armed but distracted now, and I have time to shoot him... would I? If I thought I couldn't get away safely, you're dang right I'd fill him full of lead.

I spent enough time out on the road to see every crappy back alley nasty place in the good ole USA. Being a truck driver affords you this opportunity because they don't put warehouses on the good side of town as a general rule. If I'd have shot every cretin who jumped on the side of my truck, I'd have spent more time in court than out on the road.

I will state again, if you pull a weapon, you better be prepared to kill or be killed. If you see the muzzle of my pistol, it will be the last thing you ever see.

Now for the reality, most of the really nasty places like NYC (Hunt's Point anyone?) and unsavory places in New Jersey, also have extremely restrictive laws about concealed carry by the general public. Granted I never had my truck searched there... but what if?

I also made regular pick-ups at federal and state prisons... with the exception of the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, my truck was detained in a bullpen and thoroughly searched more often than not. Get caught bringing a gun in there and you'll be seeing a lot more of the inside than you bargained for.

The bottom line, I've lived 43 years and looked down the barrel of more than one loaded gun. In 100% of those times, the joker on the other end probably had no intention of shooting me, and that is a dangerous thing... for them. If you are within arms reach, it is generally faster and safer to try to disarm someone who has a weapon pointed at you, than it is to pull your own gun and shoot them. Reaction time has everything to do with that. Once disarmed, the razor sharp piece of steel you carry with you to cut strapping and so forth will do a nice job of spilling the thug's intestines on the ground. Game over. No shots fired.

At any rate, I never said that there was no situation where having a gun wouldn't be handy... Columbine... Virginia Tech... and now in Finland of all places. If just one innocent bystander had been armed, the outcomes would have been totally different. But in close quarters, where the scumbag already has a weapon drawn, nope... I'm not reaching for mine. And in a truck, where I'm likely to be searched, and/or have to go to who knows where to pick up a load... a "strapping cutter" works just fine. No permit needed.

And one more thing, I noticed you're from Michigan (former resident here). I'm sure you also know that if you are caught taking your weapon into a gas station, bar, school... New Jersey in your truck... or anywhere else it's posted "No Weapons", you will have your CCW yanked so fast your head will spin.

___
Jim

 

Since I don't think that I have re-hashed this to death (yet):

I used to carry all the time. When I left law enforcement, I still carried all the time. So when I started driving a CMV, it was a big mental transition. But I dealt with it, and now it's not a big deal.

But I can understand how people feel the need to carry: to each their own. There are certainly creative ways to do it.

But come on, now, an 8 hour CCW class will teach you shoot/don't shoot??? heh heh....It takes quite a bit more than that.

 

I was a Police Officer for 17 years. During that time I was also the Firearms Instructor. I have taught in Police Academies for years. It's hard enough to get a Cadet through 3 or 4 months of training EVERYDAY, and have him shooting well and making proper decisions with a firearm. Now someone says a CCW class taught him alot. Think about it this way. Look at the number of students in trucking schools who graduate, then go for campany road training. THEN FAIL!!! Firearms training is an ever evolving work in progress. A person needs to shoot regularly and become proficient over a period of time. Anyone who takes an 8 hour CCW class and says, "I'm Trained" is fooling himself!

 

Most of all, being prepared and alert is number one. Having a gun is beneficial to those persons who are AWARE. Not to say you aren't right about having a gun already on you, but there have been times when I over-came that situation. The number one rule of looking down the barrel of a gun is there are no rules. How do you explain the hundreds of people that get killed every year during hold-ups, even though they comply with everything they are told? It's not that simple anymore to say, they just want my money and they'll leave. Sometimes they will plug your *ss right before thy leave. If that's the case, I'm going to fight with everything I have. Sure you have to read each situation differently, but it ain't 100%. Hell before I was a cop, I was a Paramedic. I've seen 82 year old women shot over their purses,(with no resistance) and 75 year old men shot at the 7-11 after giving them everything they wanted and had his hands up. You can't tell me, oh just give'em what they want and they'll put the gun up and walk away..............
Also, entering prisons, military bases, etc, it's usually as simple as leaving the gun unloaded at the gate. I've done it several times with my band. We've played for prisoners and we've played for the troops many times. At prisons, we informed the guard we had 2 firearms on board. We kept a case on the bus, put the guns and our pocket knives in the case, and left it at the gate; picked it up on the way out. Same thing with military bases.
I've been to prisons where they searched our tour bus, taking off even screwdrivers, hammers and butter knives. I ask this question of others. No one can show me a federal law about no guns in trucks. In fact, safe passage laws allow one locked and unloaded in the rear compartment for transport through any state. I'm concerned about bedding down at night and truckstops, rest areas, and break-downs. Riding down the road, would be hard for anyone to stop me, gun or not. Unhooking or droping a load in the middle of a crime infested ghetto is going to find my gun on my person........................
A CDL doesn't make me forfeit my rights as a citizen. Company policy is another. Sure, most trucking companies either say no guns, or don't say anything. Many of these companies would rather I take a bullet anyway, so they can avoid any possibility of liability. Most of them could care less. One extra new student in the next class. OK, I get fired, but there are other jobs. I'm not going to let some feaked out, doped up, sh*thead take my stuff AND my life and leave me on the shoulder of the road or a greasy parking lot, bcause my company says so. I'll just have to leave it at the guard gate. What are they going to do? I'm not a hot-head or a Rambo. If there are consequences for having a firearm in my truck, while behaving like a law-abiding person, then they can have the trucking business. This is the ONE THING in the trucking industry, that has me hesitating on get a job as a driver. I really would appreciate hearing from drivers that DO carry one in the truck, and their experiences, good or bad.

 

O.K., I know the subject of Firearms in Trucks has been beaten to death here. But I'm doing some research for a possible law proposal to a Senator and Representative and my own personal knowledge for the future.

I would appreciate hearing about truckers who are on the road, or have been, and carried a firearm with them. Any positive / negative experiences. Did you leave them at the gates going into bases, prisons, etc. Encounters with Law Enforcement, DOT, etc. Please, no one posting what you should or shouldn't do "if you were a trucker", politics of gun or no gun people. Just experience from real drivers, and the truth. I've talked to some who carry blades and pepper spray. Your input is also more than welcome. Thanks, NEWB

 

So you dont want any opinions for your research? You just want drivers to disclose if they committed a major felony? Got it.

 

It's hardly a major felony if you simply take the CCW course.

 

First off, it's not a major felony. Most states allow persons to have a gun in the vehicle. Especially those with state issued CCW permits. As for my research, that is why I asked for experienced / working truckers for advice, experience, pluses, minuses. As far as not wanting "opinions" for my research, I put this post here, because most of the material and posts on any of the gun subjects have been opinions and talking about what's legal or not and starts to get off topic. I wanted the words of working drivers who carried a firearm, not "opinions" of "everybody".
Second, I didn't ask for drivers to disclose felonies of anything else. YOU said that, Bubba! Got it? I tried to start a whole new thread for that particular reason, but it was moved to this thread.

 

Just FYI, it is a felony to carry in your vehicle without the proper license in most states. The ammo has to be somewhere where it's not readily accessible (or the gun does) so you can't just stick a clip in the gun and let it rip.