When you look at unlocked trucks idling in a truck stop, you begin to wonder if any truckers have security on their minds. Truck News went to the Flying J Truck Stop on Hwy. 540 in Vaudreuil, Que. to ask truckers what security features they used.

Chantal Proulx has been working for LaBonte Transport out of Dorval, Que. for two years. She drives a 2000 Freightliner and relies on padlocks to lock the barn doors, and a pinlock for the kingpin. But Proulx admits that the pinlock she uses isn’t heavy – she’d say it’s less than 5 lb.

Proulx hauls paper rolls from print shops, and magazines.

Robert Kelly is an owner/operator and owner of his own courier company, Via Courier, out of Montreal. He was driving a 1988 Ford E350 on the day Truck News did the Truck Stop Question. Kelly hauls a lot of clothing, and has already experienced a truck break-in, where a thief or thieves broke a window to get in. Kelly says he uses a padlock on the back doors, and a bar for the steering wheel, but apart from that his best method of security is never to leave anything in the truck overnight, or unattended – especially since clothing is coveted cargo.

George McCullough drives for H & R Transport out of Delta, B.C. and has a 1999 W900 Kenworth. McCullough hauls time-sensitive and thief-coveted cargo – meat – so he says he is never far from his truck until the load is delivered. “I can’t afford to absorb a loss so I never leave the load alone,” he says. McCullough uses a padlock on the barn doors with a 2.5-to-three-inch shackle. “I suppose I could wrap a chain around the whole thing,” McCullough says with a chuckle.

Bob Moulton drives a 1998 Freightliner Century Class for Brookville Transport out of Saint John, N.B. This trucker based in Truro, N.S. says his best security feature is his dog, Arthur. “I sometimes keep my doors unlocked when he’s in the cab. He’s a half-boxer, half-bulldog – what they call a Valley Bull where they’re bred in Nova Scotia,” he says.

Moulton said he usually receives a sealed trailer, but he’ll simply trust any security measures that come with a load.

Donna White drives for Association Carriers Sarnia Paving Stone, based in Sarnia, Ont., in her 1996 Freightliner. “I use a padlock and seal combination,” says White, who hauls anything and everything from sanitary products to paper.

“Sometimes, if I’m hauling TVs, the load will be protected with a very thick cable seal,” says White. So far, she has not encountered any problems on the road. “I … don’t share what’s on the truck with anyone,” she adds. n