CB's On or Off

I'd say I'm on about 75% of the time. One place I'm always on is headed into or out of a big city. I cant count the # of times an early warning of an accident has been the difference between making a stop on time and having to explain that I'm sitting in traffic 10 miles away.

 

I always keep mine on. I squelch it, but it is on. Too many times I have heard something ahead of time that allowed me more reaction time. I can remember stalled semi's in the granny lane around a curve. Too many other close calls that I had a heads up on. I can't tell you the countless times I and other drivers have tried to warn someone and they are just tooling on down the road....... Hey your doors open, freight is falling out... hey your dragging your load locks they fell from the cat walk and will be about 3 foot long by the time you stop..... hey the bag of groceries you just bought and the case of pop is on your cat walk... Hey your back tire is on fire.. I mean literally... I could go on and on...........

 

Mine is always on, just like Nighthawks and Notarps. Im driving west on I84 in NY this past week heading to the house. Seems there was a bad crash on the west side of the Newburgh beacon Bridge. It was so bad they closed it. I heard this on the CB. I jumped off exit 113 (route 9 N) headed to the house, it took me no more no less time to get there. If it was off, I would have set there hours only an hour from the house.

 

Same, same. Always On. I squelch it down enough that it probably doesn't pick up more than a mile, maybe two. When I roll into a major truckstop area, say Southside of the Racetrack, I turn it off for a few minutes. Other than areas like that it's a useful tool I think.

Not long ago I was rolling out of Altlanta, a driver went by and a few seconds later I hear MILKMAN!, is that you? "Yeah, c'mon" was my reply. Guy says, I thought maybe it was you back on the road and rollin' pumpkin boxes. Turns out to be a friend of mine I hadn't seen or heard from in 10 years or so (he'd driven past my shop a time or two and knew what the truck looks like). He was headed home and lives about 30 miles from me it turns out, so we caught up for near 3 hours. Can be a fun tool at times also.

 

Always on, squelch up to filter the noise, volume down to filter the BS. When I start hearing something close in, it gets turned up. Bear reports are useful - missed out on the bear's speed-trap party in MA on US13 at mm121 yesterday. Also have had a heads up on major backups before I get there just when you hear the amount of BS go up when a hundred truckers start whining about being held up, the current liberal plot that has their panties in a twist, which lane is open, where the backup starts, how come this has them late already... lets you know to start slowing down so you don't end up like that fella in OK last week. CB chatter can be a pain, but it can help keep your MVR and your concious clean.

 

How can I put this? Okay. Driving around without your cb on would be like taking a shower and not putting on deodorant. One day you might get away without it on but most days you really wish you would have had it on.

As others said too many times it has saved me setting in a parking lot for hours on the interstate or kept me out of an accident because of a broke down vehicle in heavy traffic or around a curve. Like Notarps I could go on forever about times it saved me by having it on. Just have to learn to squelch out most of the BS either with the knob or your brain.

 

I am a rookie with only 6 months on the road on my own. My trainer did not teach me to turn off the CB at the truck stops but I just started doing it because of the harassment of new drivers or seasoned drivers just having a bad day. I have mine on all of the time but turn it off while parking at a truck stop because of that.
Sometimes I think people forget they were once a rookie and didnt back in within a minute and feel the need to pick on the who dont get it on te first try.

 

They harass you because they can. Had someone giving me a hard time while getting into an odd space at the TA in Seymour IN the other day. I was over a bit too far to get it into the space in one try, and managed to get the trailer jacked around a bit... "He ain't gonna make it in there." IGNORE it, and git er done. I did... didn't hear any more.

 

What I like and has happened a few times is when a box could not hit a hole and gave up and I set up for it and they would mock me.. hey check out this flat he ain't gonna make it... followed by dang driver I thought flats couldn't back.....

 

I get that all the time! I just let my actions speak louder than words.