Trucking through protests: 86% of drivers express worry driving into cities amid protests
With violence spreading throughout major cities throughout the United States, truckers are left wondering what is going to happen if they have a pickup or delivery heading into these areas.
In our most recent survey of Freight Broker Live viewers, 86% of viewers said they are concerned about “delivering into major cities as protests continue” amid a exceptionally violent weekend.
Jeremy Johnson, an owner-operator and the Admin of the 10,000+ member Facebook Group, The Disrespected Trucker says that his rule of thumb is not not go through any metro areas between the hours of 7 p.m and 5 a.m.
“I am not out looking for trouble,” Johnson says. “I am just trying to do my job safely.”
Freight Brokers are also taking steps to assure their drivers are protected. Laszlo Almasi, owner of Lurch Logistics says that he is letting his customers know if they have a load going into some of these areas, they will need to be prepared for delays in case a truck needs to be rerouted if a issue pops up with the planned route.
In the past three days, several peaceful protests broke down into complete war zones after protesters opened fire on each other. In Charlotte, N.C., 2 people were killed and 12 others injured on Sunday as a major gun battle erupted just as EMT’s pulled up after reports of a pedestrian hit by a car. According to reporting, over 100 gunshots can be heard, with several bursts of automatic gunfire. 5 pedestrians were also struck by vehicles as people fled.
According to a press conference held June 22nd, Charlotte Police Deputy Chief Gerald Smith says that firefighters called in to help the shooting victims were assaulted by protesters and police had to stop protesters who were attacking firefighters. “At one time, we had to pull individuals off the backs of our firefighters,” the deputy chief says.
In Atlanta, several incidents of gunfire over the weekend with one woman shot in the leg on Saturday and another on Sunday. Videos posted online show several people carrying rifles and handguns into these protests moments before gunfire can be heard. When police went in to investigate the shootings, they were attacked and assaulted on camera.
In Seattle, protesters occupying 3 blocks of the city opened fire on each other in three separate shooing events resulting in the death of a 17 year old boy, and other is in critical condition. On Sunday, another shooting event was captured on camera with another man being shot in the shoulder. Videos online show protesters blocking police access to the “cop-free zone.”
In another survey of Freight Broker Live viewers, a 91% of viewers think that this seized area named CHAZ or CHOP should be shut down.
In all, shootings took place in Chicago, NYC, Minneapolis, Syracuse, Atlanta, and Charlotte accounting for at least 18 deaths and over 180 people shot.
