The Threat of Deadly Assault Trucks

Dozens dead in France after Bastille Day terrorist attack.
By Jeff Knox

No Assault Trucks
No Assault Trucks
FirearmsCoalition.org
FirearmsCoalition.org

USA – -(Ammoland.com)- A large box truck, the kind that makes deliveries to shops and stores in cities around the world, was used as a deadly weapon in Nice, France Thursday evening as revelers were celebrating Bastille Day, the commemoration of the launch of the French Revolution.

Attackers drove the truck through a barricade into the crowd, killing at least 75 people, according to early reports, and injuring well over 100 others in a matter of seconds.

The attack represents one of the most deadly, single-event terrorist attacks in modern history, and one of the simplest. Terrorists had no need to acquire guns, build bombs, or smuggle weapons through security checkpoints. They merely stole, borrowed, or rented a large truck and drove.

This is not the first time a vehicle has been used as a weapon, but it is probably the most devastating in recent history. A transient intentionally drove down the boardwalk at Venice Beach a few years ago, killing one and injuring several. An 86-year old man who got confused, drove into a farmers market in Santa Monica, California in 2003, killing 10. And the Isla Vista murderer, who killed 3 people with a knife, before killing three more with a gun, also tried to kill people with his car, but was unsuccessful, only injuring one man. That attacker had planned to do more damage with a vehicle, but hadn’t been able to borrow his dad’s SUV as he’d hoped, and so launched his attack with his less-lethal BMW sedan.

Some reports claim that the attacker in Nice exited the vehicle and started shooting, but this is unconfirmed as yet. Gun control laws are very strict in France, but, as the recent attack in Paris demonstrated, accessing weapons does not seem to be a problem for terrorists.

It appears though, that the vast majority of the deaths and injuries were a direct result of being hit by the truck.

(Begin Satire of Failed Gun Control)

It is yet to be determined whether President Obama and Democrat presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton will use the attack as an opportunity to call for stricter gun control in the U.S., but doing so would be in keeping with their standard operating procedures in recent years.

Others are calling for gun-like restrictions on trucks and other dangerous, wheeled vehicles. Dave Vann, director of the group Responsible Action Against Vehicle Violence, or RAAVV, said that his group is seeking commonsense legislation to keep dangerous vehicles out of the hands of dangerous people.

“Many of these vehicles are designed for military or commercial use,” said Vann. “They have no place in civilian and non-professional hands on our city streets.”

Vann went on to say that larger vehicles should be tightly restricted to designated highways, while medium-sized delivery trucks that operate on city streets should be tightly regulated, with background checks for licensed drivers, including mental health screening and operational competency testing, and owners of these vehicles should be held responsible for any misuse of their vehicles resulting in death or injury. Vann called for an immediate ban on personal assault vehicles of the pickup truck variety and strict controls on any vehicle with a gross weight in excess of 5000 pounds or a ground clearance of 8 inches or greater.

“The potential to weaponize these vehicles makes them a serious threat to everyone,” Vann said.

“Cars and trucks kill far more people every year than any other weapon – far exceeding the death toll of guns and knives combined. Vehicles that are designed for commerce should not be so readily accessible to people with little or no training, and certainly not anyone under the age of 21. Right now, people leave these dangerous weapons unattended in public spaces, leave keys where children can easily access them, and allow easy access to illegal immigrants and the mentally unstable.”

Van went on to call for legislation requiring all new vehicles to be equipped with driver recognition systems that would prevent them from being used by anyone except authorized drivers.

“We use this technology for phones and laptops, we need it for motor vehicles,” said Vann. “The technology for “Smart-Vehicles” is already out there and proven to work. It just needs to be adapted to vehicles,” he said. “Sure this will be expensive, but look at the benefits. We could save hundreds of lives every year with this technology – more once all existing vehicles are retrofit with the system. And as an extra benefit, since the systems are computer controlled, systems for remote deactivation can be included, allowing police or other competent authorities to shut down any vehicle that is being used in an unsafe or criminal manner.”

Vann said that until Smart-Vehicle systems can be deployed, and a functional background check and screening process established, every commercial, potential assault vehicle, particularly the UPS and FedEx delivery trucks that are in our neighborhoods every day, should be required to have a 24-hour armed guard to prevent theft or hi-jacking, and to be prepared to take action to stop a driver who begins driving in an erratic or threatening manner.

“This is just common sense,” says Vann. “It’s easier to buy a deadly assault vehicle today than it is to buy a book. You don’t even have to have a license. All you need is enough money for a down payment, and not even that if your credit is good. They can even be purchased directly over the internet and delivered to the buyer’s door, or easily rented from equipment home improvement stores. We owe it to our children to keep these dangerous vehicles out of the hands of dangerous people and off our neighborhood streets.”

Vann says that RAAVV will be hosting walk-ins on major thoroughfares around the country to raise awareness of the dangers of assault vehicles, and that they have formed a speaker’s bureau of victims of vehicle-violence to tell their stories and advocate with lawmakers.

“If we just save the life of one child, all of the effort and expense will be worth it,” said Vann. “Join RAAVV. Sign our petition to President Obama. Send as large a contribution as you can afford, and do it today – for the children.”

About:
The Firearms Coalition is a loose-knit coalition of individual Second Amendment activists, clubs and civil rights organizations. Founded by Neal Knox in 1984, the organization provides support to grassroots activists in the form of education, analysis of current issues, and with a historical perspective of the gun rights movement. The Firearms Coalition is a project of Neal Knox Associates, Manassas, VA. Visit: www.FirearmsCoalition.org

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Jim Macklin

The “killer truck” at Nice was masquerading as an ice cream truck. All trucks should have clear plastic cargo boxes so that all cargo can be seen. This will also prevent sneaking fifty teenagers into a drive-in theater to avoid paying their fair share. This will of course have exceptions, known as the obama box exception, trucks coming in from Mexico will be allowed to have privacy curtains so the immigrants will have a opportunity to enter the USA. Any such curtain will of course carry a warning sign that terrorists and drugs should not be carried. Motor vehicles and… Read more »

Josey Wales

Ooops! I posted twice. That’s not using common sense on my part!! But Jim your comment makes common sense!!

Wild Bill

@jh45gun Macklin And every truck is equipped with unlicensed mufflers. These unlicensed mufflers allow assault trucks to sneak up on unsuspecting persons everywhere. It is outrageous that special taxes are not collected on these. It is outrageous that there isn’t a huge corrupt bureaucracy of otherwise hard core unemployables furiously shuffling applications, writing regulations, and asking for increased budget authorizations regarding mufflers. And it would be outrageous if anyone took this seriously.

Josey Wales

Banning trucks is really just common sense! Anybody that is not for common sense truck legislation is just providing trucks to ISIS! We can all agree, given recent events, that restricting trucks is just common sense. There’s also common sense in closing the “”truck show loophole” Common sense shows us that most bad drivers AND criminals use this truck show loophole to subvert existing laws. You can keep your trucks! But they should have common sense restrictions. ITS JUST COMMON SENSE! SARCASM, BUT COMMON SENSE SARCASM. MY “INTENT” WAS SARCASM therefore no “reasonable prosecutor” would prosecute me cause doing so… Read more »

Norman

We need a ban on Burr heads that cant even read off a telaprompter without stutterin and stammerin and whislein through their theeth Any 6th grader could read the same BS in 10 Min Ban All Telaprompters before one of them idiots loses their balance hits their head and gets a concusion Ive also heard that type plastic is hard on pants suits

Mick

Thank you all for the morning chuckles !! Semper Fi.

JUANITA MINDRUP

We need a complete ban on anything a nut can use, bats, sticks, rocks, knifes, liberal party, guns, bb guns, background check for gasoline purchasing & a 6 day waiting period for purchasing gasoline, steel toed shoes or boots, mandatory helmets for anyone outside their homes, FOR THE CHILDREN!!!

Artur Mosier

Quickly, save the children and the whales. Ban all those assault trucks with evil features like shiny chrome bumpers and naked lady mud flaps. I will gladly surrender everyone’s liberties for a false sense of security. It is “the right thing to do”.

MBH

I can’t believe all this crap I am reading. Assault Truck, you are kidding me. Glass, rocks, nails, tools, BASEBALL BATS, even sticks can be used as weapons. People with mental issues can easily pass a background check and if you did not hear, the shooter in Orlando was on the FBI watch list and reported to the FBI by Disney, (which we should also ban). Your President does not allow the FBI to discriminate Muslims so he came off the watch kist. My point is that It is not the product that kills. A killer will find something to… Read more »

VT Patriot

Dude, you were out to lunch about the point being made. The OP and the commenters are using the lib (commie) talking points but have changed the wording to reflect how they would address it if they decided to go after trucks instead of guns . “High capacity” magazines or truck beds. “”Automatic or Semi Automatic” action or transmissions. All the buzz words and phrases are turned into equally ridiculous references to trucks instead of guns. C’mon, read it again and understand. Please.

Wild Bill

@MBH, yes we are kidding you. It is all just satire. Glad to see that your heart is in the right place, brother.

gil

I guess Hitlary got another enemy after NRA. The National Truck Association. Go ban them hitlary and her Democrats.

VT Patriot

I think you nailed it. The NTA lobby in congress has all the cons in their pockets. Caring liberals have been pointing out the power of the National Truck Association for way too long. Stop this outrage, think of the chirlens.

Vegoose

It’s the high capacity assault trucks that are the real problem. No one needs a truck with a carrying-capacity over 10k! They are simply too large and too dangerous. We need to ban trucks over 30k GVW and replace them with many smaller, low capacity trucks. Large assault trucks simply have no place in a modern society. Do we really want our kids growing up in a world filled with high capacity assault trucks? Think of the children people! You redneck assault truck freaks need to start driving smaller vehicles! Trade in your Mack, Kenworth, or Peterbilt for a Transit… Read more »

norman

That sounds like a good idea having big trucks around where any small children is a bad idea so I would contend that trucks could wait out in the country and all the people could just ease out there and pick up their stuff I would have a coulpe of my grand sons with me they could help out since they are smart enough to not to get hurt these trucks in the city bring all that fresh produce in is BS anyway.

SuperG

Alarmists always focus on the tool, not the people using it. The attacker, at the very least and according to records, had anger management issues. For me that is just a surface condition of some deeper underlying issues. But nobody wants to address the issue of mental health. Until society does, these incidents will keep happening.

Whiskey For My Men Beer For My Horses

Time to start profiling box trucks!

JUANITA MINDRUP

Hillary Clinton for commonsense assault trucks, as we know theres a epidemic of violent high capacity trucks, bann trucks with deadly features, such as no shift gear, tinted windows, require full 7 day waiting period for cars and bikes, for the children.

JUANITA MINDRUP

We need to ban assault trucks immediately, there’s no use for a fully loaded high capacity trucks,cars, motorcycles,bikes. We need to wake up, bann hammers, guns, glass bottles, bricks, baseball bats, knifes, black life’s matter terrorist, steel toed boots,i can go ob but u get the picture. (Comments sense ban on everything Possably deadly.

Jim Macklin

Our children are in mortal danger. Deadly, large capacity vehcles must be restricted from murderous rampages around and near schools. The Government must allay the fears of injury and even death that interfere with school children being able to come and go from school. A Truck Free School Zone must be created ASAP so that deadly trucks and other potentially deadly vehicles be restricted or banned from a one mile radius from any school. Throttle control must be regulated by use of GPS identified school zones. All vehicles over 300 Kilograms must have padded bumpers and fenders to prevent injury… Read more »

kevikens

Actually it might not be a bad idea to match the names of those on the Terrorist Watch List with those having big rig trucks and licenses. Remember what Timothy McVeigh did with one big truck and a load of fertilizer.

VT Patriot

Perhaps we should ban fertilizer also. There is no reason any farmer should be allowed to purchase (or steal) enough fertilizer to kill people. I’d say a 10 roun —- Ooops I meant pound limit would work. You don’t need 10 pounds to grow a flower…

Wild Bill

@kevikens, If you mean matching names on one list with names on some other lists as a means of keeping bureaucrats in various agencies all busy, and out of our way… then I am for it!

Irontiger65

A better solution is to take the arms and all vehicles away from people who own guns and trucks. A great solution to both gun violence and global warming and I am not being satirical.

Hillary will see to both.

Vanns40

We’ll all meet you in your cave and you can throw a cow on the grill for dinner.

Richard L

Yes, “Floating Butterfly, but only White Trucks with Automatic Transmissions

Gene Ralno

Great rant. Great satire. As a footnote, I doubt that even Hollande is as stupid as Obama. And this dark atrocity should put a bright light on the Newtown lawsuit.

Wild Bill

Didn’t the French have a moslem terrorist act shake them to the core just a couple of months ago. For having been shaken to the core, the French politicians sure didn’t do much to change things. How sophisticated the French are. How urbane the French are. How entertaining the French are.

Ted R.

This article has got to be a satire. There can’t be real people like this?

F Riehl, Editor in Chief

Ted, yes it is, note the big “(Begin Satire of Failed Gun Control)”

TEX

@Vanns40,of those 22K+ gun laws on the books almost none are enforced. Enforce existing gun laws before creating more for a problem that doesn’t exist. Do you concur ?

Vanns40

Actually I don’t agree. Because we already have laws against rape, robbery & murder almost all gun laws are unnessessary and impact only the law abiding. I say start repealing all gun laws, they serve no purpose. Enforce the other criminal laws we have.

Wild Bill

@Tex and Vann, I think that you are both saying the same thing, but Vann would go further and actually repeal all gun laws. I like it. What are we waiting for? Oh yeah… the next election.

2nd Amender

I’ve been telling my youngest son and wife to stay away from city sponsored events for just this reason…. A Nut Job with a jacked up 4x, or even worse a few nut jobs with 4x4s, and a serious hate for our way of life driving into and over spectator crowds at sponsored events of any sort. It’s ‘summer in the city’, and as can be documented in many places now, vigilance and awareness are lax. I’ve hated crowded places and unruly mobs since coming home from ‘Nam. Maybe my PTSD ain’t all that bad a condition! Keeping my head… Read more »

Clark Kent

Does not have to be a city; can happen anywhere. Just because you are in the sticks does not make you immune from the violent acts of others.

MBH

How do you ban everything that can be used to kill people?

Vanns40

With more laws of course! Can’t you see how well 22,000+ gun laws have worked? Get with the program. If it saves just one life!

hijinx60

Also need to sue the truck manufacturers to put them out of business. lol

Howard

Immediate ban on all high capacity assault trucks! Our children and country is at stake!

Josey Wales

We are all part of the “truck nuts” movement! Why would anyone need more than one truck!? Why would anyone need a truck with more than 4 wheels!? Unfortunately I’m called a “truck nut” by my friends cause I own more than one. Trucks! Trucks! Trucks! Somehow, I feel like a “truck nut”?

TEX

We definitely need common sense truck control here in the US. ESP.Those black trucks.

Josey Wales

Banning trucks is really just common sense! Anybody that is not for common sense truck legislation is just providing trucks to ISIS! We can all agree, given recent events, that restricting trucks is just common sense. There’s also common sense in closing the “”truck show loophole” Common sense shows us that most bad drivers AND criminals use this truck show loophole to subvert existing laws. You can keep your trucks! But they should have common sense restrictions. ITS JUST COMMON SENSE! SARCASM, BUT COMMON SENSE SARCASM. MY “INTENT” WAS SARCASM therefore no “reasonable prosecutor” would prosecute me cause doing so… Read more »