Truck Driver's Personal Protection

One way to circumvent this ,if you absolutely must have some sort of firearm in your possesion,is to purchase and maintain a flaregun in your vehicle .Legally this is a safety

Of course if the thing goes off in your truck it's going to burn it to the ground. Probably not a good idea.

Never known one to do so.Just like any gun it takes a willful pull of the trigger to activate the flare .

Zach. I don't mean to correct you. But they do go off on their own at times. Most usually when and if they get too hot.

They taught us a little bit about flare guns when I became a SCUBA diver. And one thing they stressed. NEVER, NEVER leave a flare gun loaded.

There is where the catch is with a firearm. If you can't leave it loaded and have to load it everytime you get out of the truck, what good will it do?

They now make a "personal sized" flare gun. A little bit bigger than the size of a ballpoint pen. It is a one time use thing. I have read where hikers and back packers carry them just in case. I don't know much about them, but I have seen videos of them being used. Not near as powerful, but still would burn like.. well, you know what.

Keep it safe out there. Joe S

Never known one to do so.Just like any gun it takes a willful pull of the trigger to activate the flare

Sure, and guns have never been known to misfire or be accidentally fired.

Let's just drop the idea of having a flare gun in the truck. That's incredibly dangerous and would never realistically be practical in terms of self defense.

I have safety glasses, a hardhat with face shield, and rubber gloves as my protection. So... just try battering me! lol.

I don't think you can carry flare guns, since they would be termed an incendiary device, thus coming under the Hazmat rules...I know that damage they can cause...a friend fired one inside a van of some guys who decided they wanted our elk camp..including guns...That flare torched that van..after it bounced around in there for a bit..looked good goin' down the road...lol. We saw the burned out hulk when we left the next morning. They shouldn't have messed with a hunting party that consisted of all LEO's...fire arms are like siamese twins to us.

That would have been something see.

Keep it safe out there. Joe S

My dad drove for over 50 years, both otr and regional and with the exception of a time during the 70's when several drivers were hijacked, he did not carry, but found his tire thumper to be very handy and we should be checking our tires at every stop anyway! :D

Could I telescoping baton (asp) be considered a tire thumper? I am certified to carry one if that issue ever came up but I'm wondering.... In my bodyguard training school I ran we taught that anything can be considered a weapon, had one LEO tell a story of stabbing a guy who had a knife in the collarbone with a ballpoint pen. We also say if you carry a baseball bat carry a glove or a ball. May not seem important but if the fit ever hit the shan you can articulate that you have it for recreational purposes. I want to know if I carry my baton if I can say it's uses as a tool?

If your baton is manufactured for a certain use, I'm sure that the DOT officers will know that. So as nice as a "black Snake" would be...I don't think you can use it for a thumper...sorry.

If your baton is manufactured for a certain use, I'm sure that the DOT officers will know that. So as nice as a "black Snake" would be...I don't think you can use it for a thumper...sorry.

It has a flash light on it :-) I guess I should find out if they are allowed in DOT Vehicles then.