Entertainment while behind the wheel on the road

While I like to get an occasional NPR fix, 99% of the time the radio is off when I drive. This certainly isn't a boring job for me. I'm listening to the whine of the turbo, whether the cylinders are firing evenly, whether I picked up a nail, and looking far ahead and behind for hazards. This has saved my butt more than once. Sometimes a tire won't explode like a grenade when it goes, sometimes it's just a little "pffffftttt".

 

That's right. Your truck will
tell you if something is wrong with her. Just like a woman, you gotta listen when she talks.

 

there is nothing on sirus between 11AM and 2PM, absolutely nothing so I turn the terrestrial radio on and usually there is nothing on there either


I have a pretty strict schedule, I listen to something on iHeartRadio from 6-10:30, then I switch it over to the NASCAR channel until 11:15 then its pure boredom after that because there is nothing on the terrestrial radio. sometimes at 2 I turn it over to listen to Road Dog news...or as it should be called "talking points" after that I stop caring because I try to be off the road by then

when I drive nights I listen to Kevin Rutherford as a way to prep me for Coast 2Coast AM and then it repeats in the morning

 

When I drive I-40 through Navajo land I like to listen to the local station that plays a good mix of classic rock with a DJ that speaks Navajo. In west Texas (can't remember where) there's a station that only plays local bands that are kind of a mix of country, rock, and rap. Finding gems out there for local stations is a treat.

 

It's actually not illegal in most jurisdictions to wear headphones while you are driving, regardless of whether you think it should be or not. It's on a state by state basis but the majority of states/provinces permit it.

I listen to audiobooks or music from iTunes mostly and while I have a Sirius radio, I only turn it on maybe twice a year. I moved into my current truck in March and I haven't even bothered to put the antenna out. Haven't turned an AM/FM station on in years. I also haven't had cable in 7 years, I can't stand the yap-yap of constant advertising that is so pervasive on Sirius, AM/FM and TV and I'm not interested in sports or celebrity gossip.

I also have a laptop on the truck but seldomly have time or energy to bother with it. When there are only 10 hours to eat, shower, sleep, excercise and wrangle with dispatchers I don't find there is ever a time where I feel like watching movies on the road.

I read 3 or 4 newspapers on my phone every day and that usually ties up the hour or so between laying down and falling asleep.

 

I use to listen to this when I was driving.. When I would start looking in the buddy seat and sleeper for aliens or the sky for ufo's I knew it was time for bed..lol

 

Anyone ever listen to the Phil Hendrie show? I'm not even sure it still comes on but it was hilarious.

Edit- it's still on. philhendrieshow

 

I just look out the window at the clowns

 

I think paying attention to whats in front , behind , above , below , beside you , is certainly enough " entertainment" . Listening to the radio is fine , mainly because you have a certain amount of time where breaks in the music ( commercials , news /weather reports ) break-up the monotony , this will enable you to stay better focused on the job a hand ( driving safely) , Not trying to,start an argument , this is only an opinion of mine , but listening to books , and the like , to me would be distracting , too easy to get into the ( tunnel vision zone ) and once there you can get into trouble quick / fast , and in a hurry. Too much , ( again to my way of thinking ) to loose for the sake of entertainment......., I'm retired now , no skin in the game any more , but after over 30 years of accident free trucking , I know what worked for me.....you folks think about it , be safe!