If you have a concealed carry permit, then you are able to travel with your gun on your person – even while in the car. While concealed carry laws vary from state to state, one thing is certain across the board: permit holders should be aware of how to drive safely with their gun.
While consulting a travel guide is always good idea, if you are travelling with a gun, it is important to consider both your own safety as well as the safety of others who may be passengers in the car while you are driving.
Below, we have listed and explained a few of the key things to keep in mind when trying to drive with a gun safely.
Be Prepared for Easy, One-Handed Access
The entire point of a concealed carry weapon is that it is easily accessible to the gun owner at all times. This can become more complicated while in the car, where you may be sitting for long periods of time and wearing a seat belt.
The important thing to consider while driving is that the gun needs to be easily accessed by one hand alone, even while you are wearing your seat-belt. If you need your gun while driving, your other hand will likely be busy controlling the car on the steering wheel.
For your own safety, don’t place your concealed carry weapon out of your own reach, especially on the passenger side. A dangerous situation in which you may need access to your gun is likely to come from the driver’s side window, so you don’t want to lose time by reaching for a gun on the opposite side of the car with both hands or your whole body.
Keep Comfort and Safety in Mind on Longer Drives
While a concealed carry gun on your person may be comfortable enough on a quick drive, it may be uncomfortable to wear on your body during a longer trip. It is easy for guns to become uncomfortable and even unsafe when pressed between your body and the seat or strapped underneath a seat-belt.
For your own safely while driving with a gun, learn local concealed carry laws to understand where else in the car you may keep your gun if you decide to remove it from your person. Some common and safe areas of the car may be underneath the driver’s side seat, in the driver’s side console, or underneath the steering column. If you’re looking to get a TX concealed carry license, check out the online course by Concealed Carry.
For the safest possible drive with your conceal carry, make sure that the area you keep your gun is secure. You don’t want the gun to dislodge from its location with every bump in the road, and you still want to be able to access it quickly and easily.
Keep Passengers in Your Car Safe at All Times
Safety while driving with a concealed carry weapon becomes even more important when there are passengers in the car besides you, especially if these passengers are children or individuals who are not trained or permitted to use a gun.
In some cases, keeping a gun easily accessible to you may also put it within reach of others in the car.
For the safety of both yourself and your passengers, place your gun where only you can reach it if you decide not to wear it on your person. Depending on the state you reside, you may be able to legally purchase holsters and mounts for areas of your car that are only within the driver’s reach.
Always Practice Everyday Gun Safety, Especially in the Car
As someone who is licensed to carry a handgun, you already know how important it is to carry your weapon safely so that it does not fire when it isn’t supposed to.
This becomes especially important while driving, because cars can create a rough and bumpy environment in which a gun may easily become dislodged from its intended location.
Always keep the safety on and practice everyday gun safety in the car.
