TRUCKERSTRUCKERS && SELF-DEFENSESELF-DEFENSEDORSEY KINDLER Self-Defense Education, Training and Legal Protection for Responsible Gun Owners www.USCCA.com 877-677-1919 Copyright © 2020 by Delta Defense, LLC All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any means: electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise, without first obtaining written permission from Delta Defense, LLC. DISCLAIMER – The views expressed in this article are exclusively the personal and/or professional views of the author and do not express the views, policy or position of Delta Defense, LLC (“Delta”) or the United States Concealed Carry Association, Inc. (“USCCA”). This article is provided solely for educational and entertainment purposes. This article is not offered for legal or other professional advice. 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MAY / 2020 ROAD WORKTRUCKERS & SELF-DEFENSE, PART 1 DORSEY KINDLER mos Phillips flipped on his right-turn signal and and weighs 200 pounds, tried to get at the man’s eyes. eased the brakes as he pulled his truck off Inter- Not knowing if he was successful (and still under attack), state 15 and onto the Exit 80 offramp at Fort Hall, Phillips then grabbed onto the attacker’s “privates” and AIdaho. pushed him out the door with his feet. The man ran off It was Sept. 2, 2018 — the day before Labor Day — and into the night. the 64-year-old trucker was “empty,” having hauled a load The beating was heinous. Phillips was hospitalized of railroad crossing parts from Missouri to a receiver 15 at Portneuf Medical Center for three days following the miles south of Fort Hall in Pocatello, Idaho. attack, followed by another four days of hospitalization Multi-state drives like the back home in Missouri. He was one he had just completed left with a broken nose, a broken were part of what Phillips en- cheekbone, a seizure-inducing joyed most about his job — see- blood clot in his brain and thou- ing the country. Originally from sands of dollars of medical bills Peoria, Illinois, he’d been to ev- for which he had no insurance. ery state in the Lower 48, save Phillips’ trucking company, for Oregon, in his 30 years as a Missouri-based JWE Inc., sent trucker. There were hassles, of a driver to Idaho to pick up Phil- course, but the travel and the lips’ rig. The driver found two freedom of the road suited him bloody rocks that the Fort Hall just fine. Police Department had left in Phillips navigated his 2000 the cab. Freightliner Cascadia into the TP Gas & Truck Stop on the IN A NUTSHELL Shoshone-Bannock Tribes’ Fort For a variety of reasons, it’s Hall Reservation, backed into difficult for over-the-road truck one of the long, narrow spaces, drivers to protect themselves and took himself off the drive with firearms: line. It was a pleasant evening, • While no exact figure exists, with temperatures in the 70s, the majority of trucking compa- so Phillips decided to walk to nies, including virtually all the BEATEN TO THE EDGE OF DEATH the nearby Fort Hall Casino to The gruesome aftermath of the 2018 attack on truck mega-carriers like Swift Trans- try his luck at the blackjack ta- driver Amos Phillips is a graphic illustration of the portation, Schneider and C.R. bles. serious risks truckers face in their travels. England, prohibit drivers from A few hours later and $100 carrying firearms. poorer, Phillips walked back to his sleeper cab. He • Even if a driver has his or her employer’s permission doesn’t drink alcohol because of his Type 2 Diabetes, so (or is willing to break company rules), that driver still has he clearly remembers falling asleep listening to the Wil- to contend with a mishmash of laws that vary dramatically lie’s Roadhouse channel on SiriusXM satellite radio. from state to state. Breaking the gun laws in a state like New Around 2:30 a.m., Phillips awoke with a start to the Jersey, for example, can result in substantial prison time. sounds of a young man forcibly breaking into the cab • Many shippers and receivers, and nearly all nuclear of his truck. The intruder, holding rocks in both of his facilities, Indian reservations, military bases and inter- clenched fists, demanded money. Before Phillips could national ports, prohibit firearms. react, the man attacked. • Lastly, there is the persistent-yet-unfounded belief “When he came at me, I didn’t really think he would do that truckers are federally prohibited from carrying fire- it,” Phillips said. “After he started, all I could think about arms. was getting him the hell off my truck.” At the same time, truck driving is one of the top 10 most The plan to do so very well might have involved the Ru- dangerous professions, according to the U.S. Bureau of ger Security-Six revolver Phillips had previously carried Labor Statistics.1 The number of total fatal injuries in the for self-defense, but he stopped carrying it in his truck category of “truck transportation” was 599 in 2017, the after he was told that truckers are prohibited from pos- last year with complete data available. While the majority sessing firearms by federal law — an all-too-common of those fatalities were the result of vehicle accidents, misconception. seven of them were homicides, with five of those seven So instead, Phillips, who stands 5 feet, 10 inches tall being the result of shootings. TRUCKERS & SELF-DEFENSE 4 JARED BLOHM, MANAGING EDITOR, CONCEALED CARRY MAGAZINE 10-4, TRUCKERS. YOU’RE COMING IN elf-defense options for profes- those questions as thoroughly as in regardless of how many precau- Ssional truck drivers is a topic possible: a four-part series on truck tions they took. Part 3 is an update that has been suggested by doz- drivers and self-defense. These on the current laws affecting truck- ens of our readers over the years stories were originally published in er safety and the legislation efforts and one that we’ve kicked around the January, February/March, April that could impact drivers in the in more editorial meetings than and May/June 2020 issues of Con- future. We wrap up the series with I could count. On its surface, the cealed Carry Magazine. some proven safety suggestions subject seems pretty simple, but as In this first piece, Dorsey Kindler from lawyers, long-time truckers, many of you already know, there’s a peels back the onion and exposes trucking company owners, self-de- lot to unravel here. With every ques- all of the layers of this very com- fense experts and more. tion our Customer Engagement ad- plicated issue. He thoroughly ex- While this series was built with visors forwarded from a frustrated plains the safety difficulties truck truckers in mind, there are a lot of truck-driving USCCA Member, ev- drivers face on a day-to-day basis takeaways here for anyone who is ery email we received from a con- and details why there are few sim- serious about self-defense. You’ll cerned family member of a trucker ple answers when it comes to viable find anecdotes on situational or every conversation we had with and legal self-defense options for awareness, state-to-state travel exasperated over-the-road driv- truckers. with firearms, conflict avoidance, ers on the USCCA Concealed Carry In Part 2, Kindler reveals what life the intricacies of self-defense law, Expo floor, we felt a greater urgency on the road is really like — from the vehicle security systems and much to provide the answers our readers allure and freedom of cross-country more in these stories. were looking for. drives to the loneliness and separa- So, sit back, buckle in and en- What you’re holding in your hands tion from families that many truck- joy the ride. We’ve got the hammer right now is the result of many ers face to the compromised posi- down, a full tank of go-go juice and months’ worth of effort to address tions drivers often find themselves nothing but open roads ahead. A December 2016 survey on truckers and personal dent on the trucks’ ability to deliver that freight.” safety by Overdrive Magazine found that 76 percent of The sheer necessity of the trucking industry is some- respondents have felt they were in danger while parked, thing most people overlook, according to Cody Willey, a delivering or driving, while 35 percent reported having 26-year-old driver with Brady Trucking, of Vernal, Utah. been forced to use a form of self-defense while truck He said truckers are “the red blood cells of the country,” driving.2 willing to go anywhere, 24/7, no matter what.