Survey says: Truckers love their guns

There seems to be no question that guns are popular in the trucking industry, but whether a trucking company would change its internal policies if federal concealed weapons laws became less strict is less certain.

Responses to an informal, nonscientific email survey sent to a broad selection of drivers, owner-operators, managers and fleet executives revealed that close to 70% of respondents from companies with 500 trucks or less either sometimes or always carry a concealed gun on their persons or in their personal vehicles when they are not on duty.

The study also found that between 76% and 90% — depending on the size of the company — believe that truck drivers should be able to travel freely between states while carrying a concealed weapon.

But the issue became murkier when respondents were asked whether internal company policy would be adjusted to allow drivers to carry a concealed weapon if laws regulating concealed carry were relaxed. The results skewed by company size: 79% of respondents from companies with less than 50 trucks responded “yes,” with 54% positive responses from respondents at companies with 51-500 trucks and 38% from those at companies with more than 500 trucks.