Truckers Appreciation Thread: CB's and Smokey

Listen to me people, truckers make this world happen. We need to get out of their way and cooperate. Respect the job they do. They work long hours and travel the lonely road to bring our goods and services to a place where we can get access to them.

There you are traveling down the highway in the left lane minding your own business, listening to the radio, talking to your friends or kids, drinking your coffee when all of the sudden there is a truck barreling down on you...what do you do?

Well, most people get ticked off and just stay where they are and ignore the truck. Here are two things you need to know about trucks and the people who drive them: They try to save money by coasting and reducing fuel intake and they try to keep from using their brakes.

When they are on a decline this is their chance to gain speed to get up the incline ahead without using more fuel to do so. They are not deliberately trying to tick you off.

My mother always loved the truckers on our road trips.

She had her CB radio and handle; "crazy lady and her 3 hens in a basket".

We would follow the truckers because they always knew where the "smokeys" were hiding out.

The truckers aways knew the best places for food. Mom would stop and treat any truckers that she followed for their meal and thank them in person whenever she had the chance.

Now, that is not to say all truckers are nice people and behave accordingly, I do not condone their ridiculous actions while in city limits...there truckers need to slow their trucking down and get over and be good little boys and girls.

Trucking is a way of life and requires a dedication that we take for granted. Next time you see a truck coming get out of the way...they are bringing your next load of StarBucks coffee or your McDonalds cheeseburgers or your Papa Johns pizza...not to mention fuel, medical supplies and numerous other life saving goodies you rely on and don't forget the Coors!

Next time you go on the road for a trip with the family in tow, stop at the rest area or truckstop and give them a big salute and round of applause and buy them a meal or a cup of coffee and say a big thank you, they mostly deserve it.

One of the greatest songs ever recorded:

a reply to: soulpowertothendegree

Good points well made

UK Trucker.

originally posted by: soulpowertothendegree

Why do I never see those station wagons on the road anymore? I have logged between 400 and 500 miles a day, 5 days a week, between city and highway driving for about 3 years now, and I have NEVER seen one of those. Strange. We used to have one of those back in the day too.

Something else, at night when you come up behind them.....dim your lights. As soon as your front end passes theirs, back on bright again. I know you should do that for regular passenger vehicles as well, but more of them are pricks on the road than truckers are and, like you said, they keep America going. My respect will go to them even on a bad day whereas not so much for regular drivers.

a reply to: soulpowertothendegree

I love truckers. I always think I could be a trucker were I not married. I love the road, especially the country road with few cars on it.

Problem is I think I would lose my mind instantly the second I pulled into New York, Chicago, LA, etc. Almost every car I had (or had by proxy through parents) had a CB in it. Channel 19 baby! I even remember being terrified as a kid to transmit anything non-emergent on channel 9. I thought the FCC was in a chopper above me just waiting...

I moved into amateur radio and still find many conversations with truckers on the 146 and such...but I miss the simplicity of the CB

But to the point...people seem to have little respect for truckers. First off they make the world and commerce move. Second, be respectful when driving. If you cut an 18 wheeler off and they can't stop...you are not going to win that fight in your Miata. Finally, they are good people who haul all your (and my) goodies from Amazon around and work on insane schedules.

Great post.

a reply to: DeepImpactX

One of my favorite songs btw. Thanks for sharing about the lights. Safety is something most truckers uphold. Another thing to remember is they have a limited view behind them so it is important to make sure you stay in their field of view.

a reply to: KyoZero

Yeah not a smart idea to play chicken with a truck, they will win that fight. Breaker Breaker 19 you got your ears on?

a reply to: DeepImpactX

Oh the car is a Vista Cruiser and we took 4 years of summer trips in it. I always got the back to myself! Loved that cool window on top!

a reply to: gortex

Thank you, hey do they have the CB radio over yonder across the pond?

a reply to: ColeYounger

Coming from Cole Younger that there is mighty high praise!

I drove a tandem axle dump truck for 7 years in and around the city I live in, most of the city driving was hell, the highway work was not much better. There are some real special idiots on the road looking for “death by truck”.

Just because it’s a BIG truck, it does have BIG breaks but it also takes way more distance to stop the mass (my truck was 28 tons loaded) and pulling out on a truck is just asking to get smeared. I had one person try it and they lost, no one was hurt but the new Chevy crew cab had a bumper to bumper swirl pattern from my back duals along with the loss of door handles, side markers and mirror. The ten seconds to wait for me to pass would have saved thousands in repairs.

Too many people also have a bad habit of driving in the blind spot, this can be very bad for your health. Best way to tell if you are in the danger zone is to look at the mirrors on the truck, if you can’t see the driver, they can’t see you, pull up or drop back until you can see the driver.

One last thing is..........WE CAN SEE WHAT YOU ARE DOING IN YOUR CAR lol. I was stopped at a red light one day and I looked to my side to see a woman in her car with her dress pulled up, panties pulled down, and having a good time with herself. I think I scared the crap out of her when I gave 2 quick blasts with the air horns because she almost shot off through the red light. Wait until you get home, that’s just as bad as texting.

Came close to being a trucker myself.

My wife's father and uncle were truckers. When we inherited things after he passed, one of those things was a very tricked out F350. I still learn new things about it every now and then, lol.

Her dad's trucker background definitely is evidenced in the truck's features.

Without truckers, we'd be in a SHTF situation in 3 days. (as all the stores would be mostly empty).

a reply to: Gazrok

I always joke with my spouse that someday we will just hop in a truck and make a living driving from town to town hauling goods. Then I think, nah, are you crazy! We'll take a winnebago instead and just rob banks along the way!

a reply to: Grayarea

Why honk? Just enjoy the free show!