What is the first thing you think of when you see an armored truck driving down the street? You probably don’t even notice it unless a security guard is walking around with millions of dollars in their hands. That is a shame because they are actually amazingly powerful machines with more secrets than meets the eye.
If you were behind the wheel of one you would feel like you were indestructible and you would take on anyone. We’re going to look at some weird things you probably didn’t know about them. It will give you a newfound appreciation for the next truck you go past when you’re driving down the street.
It’s not the most dangerous job in security
You might think that driving around in an armored truck with millions of dollars in the back would be dangerous. It is a little dangerous, but there are other security jobs where you have more chance of getting killed. A nightclub doorman is actually the security profession where you’re more likely to be seriously hurt. An armored truck security guard comes in a close second, so maybe you’re safer just sticking to your nice office job.
Throw a humpback whale in the backseat
Armored vehicles are very heavy and when they’re fully loaded they can weigh as much as a fairly small humpback whale. You have to remember that they usually have a huge amount of money in the back comprised of small coins. If you want to compare it to something a little easier then it could weigh the same as a Chinook cargo helicopter as seen on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. You wouldn’t be able to push-start it in a million years.
You can drive on flat tires
Think about how easy it would be for someone with a good aim to shoot out a truck’s tires. It would render any other car useless, but an armored truck can drive with flat tires at pretty fast speed. When someone is being attacked the driver can only think about getting the truck to safety and it’s possible because they can drive on deflated tires. It’s actually hard to burst their tires in the first place, but at least they have measures in place in case it does happen.
Taking the kids to school
If you wanted to build an armored truck out of any vehicle do you know which one you would choose? It was actually the busses they used to take children to school with. It all started in Chicago when the mobsters started beefing up their own cars to protect themselves against the police and their other enemies. The police fought back by buying a bunch of old busses and reinforcing them with steel plates and covering the windows with bars.
Trucks were influenced by September, 11th
That fateful day on 9/11 changed a lot of things and the armored truck industry was no different. The biggest problem was a vulnerable fuel tank and the underside of each truck, because if a bomb went off the people inside wouldn’t have stood much of a chance. These days you will find that the fuel tank can be disconnected remotely. The underside of the truck is also a lot stronger and it can detect any bombs in its path.
What do you think?
Would you drive around in one of these powerful machines? You don’t have to be a security guard to have one these days because lots of powerful people who have money to spend can buy one. If you ever win the lottery you might want to look into it and you’ll impress everyone when you go to the store for some milk.
Today’s guest author, Roger Harper, is a sales executive at Isotrex Manufacturing, an armored car dealer based in the UAE. After a long day of work, he winds up with a cup of tea and a newspaper.
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License: Creative Commons image source- License: Creative Commons image source
- License: Creative Commons image source