Trucking: am i allowed, paintball markers guns, bob stephens

Question
i am really into paintball,games,tourny's,woodsball, an i am a company driver, my dispatcher an my terminal manager have no problem with me taking my time off to do these things however is it legal for me to carry my paintball markers/guns in my truck that way i can play no matter where i am on a weekend,they are kept under my bunk an are not in anyway charged or loaded

Answer
Hi Charles.

Let me start off by saying "I don't know".  I have never heard of any Federal law prohibiting a commercial truck driver from carrying a paintball gun.  That's not to say that there isn't one, but I would doubt it.  You may drive through a state, county, or city that is the exception to the rule (usually because there was an incident there).

My advice would be to always keep it in a case tucked away in the sleeper berth.  Then don't discuss it on the CB.  I really doubt that any officer is going to worry about it, especially if it's stored away.  Unless you get pulled over for something stupid or roll your truck, nobody will ever go in your sleeper berth.

I think you'd be surprised how many drivers (especially owner-operators) carry handguns, which IS illegal.  Again, they keep it tucked away for protection at night and are rarely caught because the DOT and police simply don't do cab searches unless there is great suspicion of something illegal.

All this being said, I wouldn't worry to much about it, just NEVER leave it out within view.  

Happy Truckin' and Paintballin'

Bob Stephens