Conceal Carry Question

Wrong on all accounts.

Try a border crossing into Canada.

Don't judge so fast :-) I should have made myself more clear - I meant domestic shippers and receivers, not Mexico or Canada. Of course, crossing borders is a totally different story.

Most drivers carry? Nope. Where did you come up with this,

Since this is one of those "don't ask" questions, there is no published statistics, and we can rely only on our personal knowledge. I, for instance, personally know about twenty or so truckers, 90% of them are from Eastern Europe. Everybody carries, even those 10% Americans :-) I call it "most".

DOT wants to look inside the truck? It will happen, whether you stall for a warrant or not.

You are an experienced driver. How many times has DOT searched your truck?

I just feel like if I am doing a pickup/drop on the south side of Chicago.... Well... Ya know..

Drew, I'm going to agree with Robert when he says this...

Situational awareness is always important but drivers are very rarely messed with.

Over the last eight and a half years I have run over the road and been in every state but Montana and Washington. I have never felt the need of a firearm. I own a good many firearms and live in a state where we can now carry without a permit. What Robert says is key. Remember this: when you are delivering in a place like South Chicago you are delivering to a private business on their property. There is nobody there who is going to mess with you. They want their goods from you and that's all. I have never felt the slightest bit unsafe when at my customer's locations including South Chicago.

Where you will possibly find yourself feeling a little on edge will be if you end up parking somewhere that is... shall we say, a little sketchy. It is easy to avoid those type places with good trip planning. Now we all know that sometimes our best laid plans go awry. As you gain experience you will know the places you like to park and places that don't appeal to you. Part of our situational awareness is learning the country and what parts of it we can park comfortably at. It won't take you long to figure out how to handle yourself out here, and I think you'll find you can do it just fine without your weapon. Each of us does what he thinks best, but we have to be aware of the consequences of getting caught breaking a rule. The driver who thinks he can abide by every state's rule is only fooling himself. There are a few states who are almost crazy about the way they handle someone who has a handgun with them. You sure don't want to find yourself in their hands with a pistol on board.

we carry precious cargo

The most precious cargo in my truck is myself. There is absolutely no point in being a hero, protecting company's truckload of whatever cargo at the expense of his health or even life. In fact, I was told a very similar thing from Roehl at orientation.

Sorry to sound like a "debbie downer" but,

regardless if a trucking company has a "no weapons" policy or not, most shippers and receivers have a no firearms policies. also, there comes the problem with crossing state lines. as a truck driver, unless you are driving local or within the state 100% of the time, you WILL cross a state line at some point. where the issue lies is that most bordering states of where you live do not have reciprocity laws, and if you cross over the state line and get pulled over or inspected, and the officer finds a firearm, a can of worms will have been opened that most drivers, IMHO, do not want opened. it would be a felony charge for carrying a firearm without a permit. you would more than likely get arrested, lose your CCW, any firearms you own, and more than likely not get your CCW back. and, since you will have a felony arrest on your record, even if you are found "not guilty" and the charge is taken off your record, you will more than lose your job, and have to answer "yes" to the question "have you ever been arrested for a felony".... then there comes the possibility of your company sending you into Canada, if they go there, and you have your passport. you cannot cross over international borders with a firearm (or other "weapon", bigger than a pocket knife).....

we carry precious cargo

The most precious cargo in my truck is myself. There is absolutely no point in being a hero, protecting company's truckload of whatever cargo at the expense of his health or even life. In fact, I was told a very similar thing from Roehl at orientation.

And thats it in a nutshell. There are only two things I would give my life to protect, my life and my dogs life. Literally everything else is either insured, can be replaced or doesn't belong to me. I would indeed kill another human being to protect the two of us, other than that, if I am being robbed I'd hand them the keys and wish them luck. I've as of yet never been in a scary enough situation or area that I felt threatened.

you cannot cross over international borders with a firearm (or other "weapon", bigger than a pocket knife).....

Having a gun legally is both a privilege and a responsibility. There are so many countries in the world where cirizens do not have this right. A gun can save your life, and of course such privilege comes at a cost - you need to buy a gun, to learn how, when and where to use it, practice, and so on. I look at all possible complications as part of this cost. Luckily for us, there are only a few states with crazy and/or stupid gun laws, plus more and more states go permitless now...

As for crossing international borders, you can transport firearms, you just need to know and follow the rules.

You have all been incredibly helpful. I was merely inquiring of the possibility. It is nice to hear from experienced drivers that safety isn't a major concern at least in that respect. I am very glad I joined this community and hope you all stay safe and healthy. :)

I need to add a bit of specific conditions to this conversation. The idea of transporting a firearm across state lines being a felony is misleading. It depends specifically on the condition of storage as to being legal although there are exceptions, one big one being New York. As long as the weapon isn’t loaded and in a case separate from the ammunition, you’re fine. Now, many will argue that having a weapon which isn’t loaded is pointless but I’m making the distinction of legality vs practicality. Mine stays in one biometric safe and ammunition in another, both in separate cabinets except when sleeping and it’s perfectly legal except in New York, Chicago and specific locations. It never leaves the truck, even in states where my permits are legal because I’ve never felt a need to have it on me.

Again, your best bet is to go to websites which deal specifically with firearm regulations instead of asking in a forum because you’ll get a million different responses and claims, the majority of which will be wrong. As to my own personal knowledge, I’m an FFL holder and have been buying and selling since 1996. I’m a certified range safety officer and light arms instructor. Even with those credentials and knowledge, I encourage you to visit the sites I mentioned and read the information from the legal scholars.

CFI allows drivers to carry a firearm. It is up to the driver to know the laws in each state. Some in the Northeast will arrest you. I don't know the laws. I have seen drivers in our terminals open carrying. I recently ran into a driver at a truck stop who had two guns and a knife strapped to his body. Was happy to walk next to him.

This right here is a major determining factor for me if I ever decide to leave Knight, this would be one of the reasons why. Ive had my eye on CFI because of their policy. At this time Knight still has a no weapons policy even if you are a CCW permit holder (I have been for several years). In regards to the posting of no weapons, different states have differing policies regarding that. Some states its up to the business, but some states have a safe employee law that prohibits businesses from preventing open carry and/or concealed on their property. Its the responsibility of the permit holder to know the laws of each state and comply.

If you transport any US Military loads where you pick up or deliver on any base,your truck and trailer get thoroughly searched,every time. They make you open all doors and compartments,including the hood and make you wait in a separate area while they conduct their search.

Firearms of any kind are are forbidden by civilians on base.

They also do a background check on you while you're there and will give you the boot if they find something,loaded or empty.