We Americans spend a whole lot of time in our cars. In parking lots, drive-thrus and especially between home and work. With that much time spent in our cars, we can find ourselves in dangerous situations on the road. The question then arises: Where on your body do you carry while you are driving?
Carrying a piece on your hip while seated and buckled can be unwieldy, so many handgun owners store their gun in the glove box while on the road. One danger of glove box storage is that you might exit your vehicle and forget to retrieve your gun. The best case scenario, and it’s not a great scenario, is that someone else drives your vehicle, doesn’t know the gun is there and is pulled over by police. That’s a potentially dangerous situation.
In the worst case scenario, you park your car and it is broken into. Your handgun is stolen and used in a crime—all due to your negligence. This happened to a friend of mine. He left his gun in the glove box because he was entering an establishment where guns were not permitted. His truck was broken into and the gun stolen. Two years later, he received a call from a California police agency who had tracked the gun back to him. It had been used in a crime. If you must leave your gun in the car, purchase a small gun safe that locks and bolts to your vehicle.
What if you need to draw your handgun while behind the wheel? It certainly isn’t very convenient to stretch to the opposite side of the car, unlatch the glove box and retrieve your gun. Here, I’m guessing you lose at least five seconds. And how safe is that action if you are operating a moving vehicle at the time?
The above are all considerations, but as always, consult and obey your state and municipal laws. What’s your solution to this problem?
