protection on the road

Try and stay outside of the city, the surrounding county is much tougher on crime than the city is. An armed robber in the city will be out on the streets in 24 hours and then get a suspended sentence. In the county they're going to the state penn for a few years. The criminals know this and will do their thing in the city mostly.
Baltimore, a heroin city with a crack problem. An estimated 50% of the city's population are heroin addicts. Good luck.

 

I have guns, and my children were taught how to handle them safely eight along with riding bikes, and respect for others.

 

There is only one rule.

If you pull it, you kill it.

 

That makes no sense to me.

What does 'safely eight' mean?

 

I have to STRONGLY DISAGREE with this idea, rule of life/death. Whatever you call it.

Short story. I saw a man shoot another. He had been chasing him (I thought it was nothing till gunfire)
I had minimal cover but the drop him. less then 25' he was facing toward my right. (I was behind his right shoulder, dang slow place to turn/shoot before I have multiple rds in him)
I DECIDED NOT to act. My assumption was he would turn back to direction he came/run off. I am trained as EMT. I would render aid to injured, give description...
This was across the street from a College. I did NOT want to have shootout as many folks out and about.
Well instead of running, he steps up to body and goes (as if to put bullet in head) so I gave verbal. Partly as I did not want to shoot in back/side, also I hoped he would give up. My "plan" is he would turn with gun, I wouid shoot. Thankfully he froze........... The guy on ground begs me NOT to shoot, its a joke, a prank.
They had some blanks, a real gun, decided it would be a hoot to freak out classmates in gals dorm/dropping of GRs just before the house mother locks up...
I would have killed a Darwin award winner. (If I followed your advice) Thats not the first/last time I have pulled a gun. A person has to MAKE me kill them. You give up, go to jail (or sad to say just run away) they won't get hurt.
IF you decide to carry a firearm (really any weapon) get some training, get to know basics of laws, then take more training. Other then what was provided by employer I used to take one outside training course a yr. (Now I am maybe one every 5)

What does 'safely eight' mean? As most non typists know is "Safety right along with ...." Even if you have a spell check it won't catch that.

 

I own a home in a neighborhood where children often play in the streets wearing bullet proof vests. My neighbors have been in and out of jail for being involved in shootouts. I own a .22 rifle, and I keep it in storage 60 miles away from home. I've found the best way to get yourself killed in a crime riddled area is to have a gun, and my neighbors have shown me that even if you aren't killed, things aren't getting any better for your family once you're in jail. Take out a healthy life insurance policy on yourself, use some common sense, and keep your head low.

 

There's a lot of advice and opinions some good some not so good. Legal action for pepper spray, mace, or any other non-lethal device can get you in trouble anyway, but the legal consequences are quite different. That can turn into a, "taking a knife to a gunfight", thing too. You will have to ultimately use your own God given good judgement to figure out what is best for you in whatever particular situation you find yourself in. That's why training is so valuable. Quick decision making can mean the difference between life and death. Training gives you a head start on making those kinds of decisions and hones your reflexes, but, situations vary so training is not the be all end all of it. If a person doesn't have good decision making skills to begin with then the training can give someone a false sense of security and get them in more trouble than they know how to get out of, or dead, and makes the training useless or even detrimental. Felony out of state firearms charges? You don't want to be a part of that. Especially if someone dies at your hands. Somebody else will be your families provider and protector then. I feel for people in the predicament of making these kinds of decisions, been there. Scares the hell out of you and in the heat of the moment? Well, sometimes you just do what you gotta do because you have no other option. There are bad places in most every city you come to these days. Particularly in the bigger ones i.e. New York, L.A., Detroit, Chicago, etc. And for OTR truckers this is just amplified because of the nature of the beast. You never know where you're going to be or at what hours of the day or night. You can pay attention to your surroundings as much as you can and still wind up in a bad fix. That's just the way it is. Arm truckers? Not gonna happen. I've heard it said, "Better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6", and I understand what they mean but it's not that simple. Take your time when you have time and make some careful considerations. Don't make brash decisions that can effect the rest of your life. At the same time, if it comes to you or them, no questions asked, no doubt about it, backed in a corner. Doesn't take much to figure that one. Hope you never find yourself in that position.


God bless and be safe

 

I was in a situation where if I had pulled my gun, I would have killed a 17 year old kid.
I didn't pull it.
I talked him down.

But if I had pulled it - I would have shot to kill.
That is the way of things.

If you pull it...
You shoot to kill.

With the first shot.

Period.

 

Sprays sound like an alternative yet the concern would be during the moment its pretty easy to spray what ever in your own eyes. One problem person in your face is different then two, three four or more. Things can go to many directions. I would bring it to your companies attention and to the persons where ever you were. A gun will take on a life of its own if not prudent and careful. There's no sense in landing in jail nor does it make sense to put yourself in harms way.

A tire thumper, fire extinguisher against a gang may not last long, this is real life not a movie,
another job or run might work out best

 

I've been (driving,walking) in worst Chicago 'hoods' and never ever saw anything even close to children playing around in bulletproof vests.

To OP, don't get caught "carrying" in the truck. Plenty other ways to defend yourself.