Self Protection questions

Mix this with one of those train air horn setups, and be prepared to hose the crap and pee off the side of your truck! Not too mention, a great practical joke if your co-driver/significant other/friendly passenger has the strength of heart to handle it!

 

Honestly mace will prob be best

 

I made a silencer out of two lawnmower mufflers welded together end to end.

 

Not sure what kind of truck you're driving, but mine has enough power to drag the trailer with the brakes locked. So yes, I can still go fast enough to run over / crush anyone that's close enough to my truck to cause harm.

 

I've found that conducting yourself in a 'you will have a really bad day if you mess with me' manner is the best self protection.

 

i've got a small crowbar beside the seat and a big walking stick in the sleeper.....

only had to pull out the stick once at the rest area in conneticut right before you cross into NY......two guys in a car were slowly rolling the line of trucks parked there and then got out and were checking trailer doors.....they came towards me truck and i grabbed the stick and got out and told them that was about far enough and they got in the car and left......

but as an actual threat against me personally i haven't had to use eithe rof them yet....but they're close and handy if i do.....

paying close attention to your surroundings and carrying yourself with confidence goes a long way towards keeping yourself out of alot of situations.....those types generally don't like to pick on ones who just look like they'll fight back......they look for the ones who look meek or otherwise unsure of themselves...

 

It really does have a lot to do with presentation. If you're wandering around like a lost puppy, you're a target. I tend not to stop too long in any one place, as my runs start and end from my terminal. Occasionally I'll have to take a ten somewhere, but I don't often get bothered. I'm not a big guy, 5'10" 175, but I get left alone. Been told I always look angry, though I am usually just in a purposeful mood, so maybe that's got something to do with it. Am I armed? I'll never tell

Oh, and the only pickup truck in Hunt's Point (at least the meat market...I don't go to the product/fish side) is that imbecile security guy who likes to run around barking at the big truck stopped in the no parking zone (I was just shutting my doors, geez!).

 

A celll phone.

 

What good will a cell phone do you? Consider the average police response times in areas where trucks generally congregate. We don't typically load, unload, or rest in the "ritzy" part of town where there are regular patrols. No, we are usually in the industrial sections where seeing a cop is a banner event worthy of a parade (or a hail of gunfire, depending upon the local attitude to law enforcement). And thats IF the police respond to your call to begin with. Hate to be the one who tells you this, but the police are not required to protect the general population from criminal activity. They are in place to investigate criminal activity and arrest whomever they feel may be guilty of the crime in question.

It is the responsibility of the citizen to protect themselves (and each other if we were in a more cooperative society than current evidence suggests). If you are going to rely upon a cell phone for protection, I suggest you get a good heavy one. That way you can at least throw it at your assailant. Me? I'll keep my weapons, thanks....

 

My father was a truck driver most of his adult life. He carried a weapon most of the time. I remember one story he told of being in New Jersey somewhere close to New York City in the early 70s. It was about 1AM he was lost trying to find a shipper. While stopped at a light a girl stepped up on his truck. Just in the corner of his eye he noticed movement in his right side mirror. It was a man trying to slip up on him. Dad always kept his .38 close by and in a second he had it in the girls nose, dad said she screamed and the last thing he saw was both their butts running away. I have often wondered what might have happened that day IF he had not been armed.

I think the advise to be aware of your surroundings is the best advice, when in bad area's use your mirrors to make sure nobody is on your blind side. On the subject of weapons I think most anything heavy you can get your hand around will work. On the subject of firearms I won't get into that debate. Just remember no matter what the laws might be you are at the mercy of the cop if one is discovered in your vehicle. Most of us operate on hard schedules and I would hate to miss an appointment because of being detained by a cop even if I can later leave with my firearm. This is the major reason I won't carry a firearm. Just not worth the aggravation if a cop were to find it. I keep a big hammer right next to my seat. I have been working OTR now for over 20 years 2 years in a class A, and am the son of a truck driver. I know most of the places where you are more likely to run into a problem then others. However it's important to remember you can be the victim of a violent crime even in your home terminal. If this driver had decided to shoot others at this terminal it would have been a bad day. I was in the Hersheys plant there a day after this happened.

I have a feeling this will be debated for years to come.