CB etiquette??

[niceguy71]

hey Guys

well I got back into CB a couple years ago, I go out on little short trips a few times a week so not putting many miles on the F-150 maybe 4 or 5 miles each way.
I ALWAYS have my CB radio on channel 19 to listen... I don't hear much, but if I ask for a radio check I generally get one... so I know people are out there.

I went out to Breakfast today and when I was on route 44 East I saw a Statie ( Massachusetts State policemen ) in the medium at the bottom of a hill.... meaning the vehicles coming at me on 44 West would not see the cruiser until they got to the top of the hill and started down..... so I smiled and picked up my mic and started to give a smokey report......

I didn't know how???? since I've had my CB in my F-150 I've never seen a speed trap .... very few police in my area... I have never had any kind of ticket in my entire life as you just hardly ever see a police car..... so I started to think back to the 80's and 90's when I had the same CB in my Blazer.... I don't remember ever driving by a police car then??? maybe once or twice??........... now there are major highways that have several police cars going up and down them all day long... but I live in an area where there is no real major highways near me
............... anyway

so I said into the mic attention anyone on 44 West you have a police car in the medium strip between Commerce Way and High Street.... neither exit had an exit number.
I kept thinking... you know I really don't know the proper Etiquette???? do I say smokey report? I was really at a loss for what to say. or how to say it.

I repeated it about a mile down the highway... no one ever responded... I was a bit worried if the policeman had a CB in his cruiser and heard me he would come looking for me... I hardly ever see a tractor trailer on that highway and not one vehicle other than me had a CB antenna on the roof

I started to wonder if my CB was working so I turned on 37 LSB and as I was driving 80 plus MPH asked if anyone had a copy on a 27 watt mobile radio, 155 in Massachusetts... several people responded from all across the country... one guy 867 in Florida said he was a mobile too, on a 40 watt mobile.... so I asked 867 what he was using for an antenna... he said it was an Italian antenna called a Sirio....... said it was a Sirio 5000 Performer... so I asked if this is SlowMover????... he said it was 867 in the Panhandle ...
bet I know who told him to get that antenna!

so how do you warn of speed traps??? what words do you say?

 

[AB5ID]

Say something like:

“Westbound, you got a bear sittin’ at the 44 yardstick, shootin’ eastbound.”

“Smokey taking pictures at mile marker 44, westbound side.”

Direction (eastbound/westbound)
Location (mile marker, landmark)
Type of trap (sitting, rolling, etc)
Or punch it into Waze

 

[niceguy71]

Waze???? I'm so old I still use CB radio's.... I carry my smart phone... but don't ask me how to turn it on!!! and you want me to punch it into Waze LOL

mile marker was a GREAT idea!!! I was trying to describe the location but had no exit numbers and didn't just want to ramble on, on channel 19

everything you said would work ... thank you!
... I'll try to remember that for when I see a police car in another 10 or 20 years.

 

[kc2asb]

so I said into the mic attention anyone on 44 West you have a police car in the medium strip between Commerce Way and High Street.... neither exit had an exit number.

Never gave a smokey report in my life. But, who knows, you might have saved someone from a costly ticket today.

 

[niceguy71]

Never gave a smokey report in my life. But, who knows, you might have saved someone from a costly ticket today.

if someone had come back... and said thank you.... after I gave the report it would have made my decade!!!!
sadly no one out there to help today

 

[slowmover]

Given the way folks drive today — and that the 55-MPH limit is long dead — I probably haven’t given a bear report in years. I make an exception for DOT Commercial Vehicle Enforcement en masse as they’ll target drivers on break in rest areas some states.

The ones speeding on roads with multiple entrances (non-limited access) deserve the ticket. Those crashes are horrible. They’re the same ones tailgating, light-running and making illegal passes.


The order (I’ve posted a number of times) is from large to small:

1). State
2). Roadway
3). Travel Direction
4). Mile Marker (or similar)
5). Problem.

Find you a copy of the Ten Code
Use that in multiples and have a helluva lot of fun.

.

 

[slowmover]

if someone had come back... and said thank you.... after I gave the report it would have made my decade!!!!
sadly no one out there to help today

The Method is to note MM and approximate time. Someone gives you a heads-up it’s the polite thing to have info to trade (I just don’t go out of my way anymore).

“Yeah, hand, we passed a county mounty back at the 17 an hour ago, and there’s two full-grown working both sides about 7-8/miles ahead of you near the 72 yardstick. Other than that it was quiet back to the Illinois line. We came out of that last rest area near the scale house”.

.

 

[slowmover]

Etiquette is being good with observational reports.

Passing a real fine F’U in the other direction:

A). What’s the MM of the wreck? (and Clock Time).
B). Where’s it located in relation to the lanes?
C). Did it just happen (no emergency vehicles or wrecker)?
D). Are one or both lanes closed?
E). To what MM is traffic stopped?
F). Etc.

You can keep on with reporting about 5-7/miles. I always wait to see if big trucks in oncoming traffic. Depending where I am I’m looking for O/Os as they’ll have radios and have them turned on.

10-15/miles out I’m only looking for O/O and have two mile markers (wreck type location and how far traffic backed at X-o’clock) and no emergency vehicles yet present type of statement.

Takes from .75 to 2.75-hours to get IH clear.

15-miles out that O/O can make choices about his HOS, not just a re-route.

After that I won’t bother unless requested OR I’m coming to a major metro OR a crossing Interstate.

MM’s, Nature, and Clock Time.

Owning the gear ain’t for squat, it’s in knowing Use: Re-read the whole of the, “Do Truckers Still Use CB”, thread as there are many clues of Who, How, Why and Where that CB Etiquette plays its role scattered along the way.

When to pick up the mic




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[RFI-EMI-GUY]

Cheeze it the fuzz!! At the 44 mile marker!!

 

[Chris155]

I don’t warn the speeders, let them get a ticket before they kill somebody. The dot man is a whole different thing. I’ll gladly warn a man trying to make a living that the dot man is waiting around the bend to shake him down for a weeks pay.

 

[jhooten]

Cheeze it the fuzz!!

You are showing you're an old guy with that one. Young'uns have no clue what it means. Even rookie cops.

 

[EAFrizzle]

I never give Smokey reports. It's too much trouble to adjust the echo and put down the harmonica.

 

[slowmover]

Man. That was Post of the Week, right there.

 

[kc2asb]

I don’t warn the speeders, let them get a ticket before they kill somebody.

I had the same thought. Going 10mph above the limit is one thing, but I regularly see drivers exceeding it by 25+ mph.

 

[nokones]

You'll be surprised in the condition of those trucks that need an inspection and repaired and the drivers need to suck it up on losing a weeks pay if they don't keep their rigs in good working order and compliant with the various state and federal statutes. Besides overweight vehicles, they also concentrate on brake adjustments, cracked frames and wheels, bald tires, and steering components, that may be in immediate need of repair/attention mostly on independent drivers. Most of the Fleet truckers are usually not the problem because of their maintence programs and mandatory inspections. The Commercial Officers are out there for safe travels on highways and byways for everyone.

Impaired commercial drivers has always been a problem and mostly will never change. It appears to be an up swing in the number of commercial drivers that are over medicated and involved in traffic collisions.

 

[slowmover]

You'll be surprised in the condition of those trucks that need an inspection and repaired and the drivers need to suck it up on losing a weeks pay if they don't keep their rigs in good working order and compliant with the various state and federal statutes. Besides overweight vehicles, they also concentrate on brake adjustments, cracked frames and wheels, bald tires, and steering components, that may be in immediate need of repair/attention mostly on independent drivers. Most of the Fleet truckers are usually not the problem because of their maintence programs and mandatory inspections. The Commercial Officers are out there for safe travels on highways and byways for everyone.

Impaired commercial drivers has always been a problem and mostly will never change. It appears to be an up swing in the number of commercial drivers that are over medicated and involved in traffic collisions.

My objection is tactics. Drivers on 10-hour break at a rest area. There are plenty of ways to do this better (weigh stations are best).

The foreigners now in this business are atrocious at safety adherence re truck condition.

So far as etiquette on-air it’s worth reporting bad/poor actions. Or obvious problems spotted with truck condition, not just try to get ahold of driver.

 

[Chris155]

You'll be surprised in the condition of those trucks that need an inspection and repaired and the drivers need to suck it up on losing a weeks pay if they don't keep their rigs in good working order and compliant with the various state and federal statutes. Besides overweight vehicles, they also concentrate on brake adjustments, cracked frames and wheels, bald tires, and steering components, that may be in immediate need of repair/attention mostly on independent drivers. Most of the Fleet truckers are usually not the problem because of their maintence programs and mandatory inspections. The Commercial Officers are out there for safe travels on highways and byways for everyone.

Impaired commercial drivers has always been a problem and mostly will never change. It appears to be an up swing in the number of commercial drivers that are over medicated and involved in traffic collisions.

Here in MD my experience with dot is random stop inspections/investigations. No cause needed, completely random blue lights in the rearview. In other words any vehicle with gvwr of 10k or more is subject to random stop and inspection or investigation.

The inspector in my experience is not a police officer, but is accompanied by one. Police officer conducts a stop so the inspector can do his thing. The inspector often seems to have been trained in writing highest dollar amount possible in fines. Again not typical police behavior in my experience, these guys seem like perfect HOA board candidates. They got a rule book and read it, twice. Goes well beyond lights, brakes, tires etc.

Often the inspector will classify a private owned pickup & utility trailer as commercial then writing up every violation known to man.

Because of those tactics I’ll gladly use CB to help other working men avoid the same shakedowns I’ve experienced.

 

[slowmover]

Here in MD my experience with dot is random stop inspections/investigations. No cause needed, completely random blue lights in the rearview. In other words any vehicle with gvwr of 10k or more is subject to random stop and inspection or investigation.

The inspector in my experience is not a police officer, but is accompanied by one. Police officer conducts a stop so the inspector can do his thing. The inspector often seems to have been trained in writing highest dollar amount possible in fines. Again not typical police behavior in my experience, these guys seem like perfect HOA board candidates. They got a rule book and read it, twice. Goes well beyond lights, brakes, tires etc.

Often the inspector will classify a private owned pickup & utility trailer as commercial then writing up every violation known to man.

Because of those tactics I’ll gladly use CB to help other working men avoid the same shakedowns I’ve experienced.

Agreed. Enforcement personnel different in Texas. But violators with pickups and GN trailers are prime targets, rightfully.

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[nokones]

My objection is tactics. Drivers on 10-hour break at a rest area. There are plenty of ways to do this better (weigh stations are best).

The foreigners now in this business are atrocious at safety adherence re truck condition.

So far as etiquette on-air it’s worth reporting bad/poor actions. Or obvious problems spotted with truck condition, not just try to get ahold of driver.

Drivers without a current inspection sticker on their windshield do not travel on highways with an open weigh scales or inspection facilities. They bypass those stations and that is why there are commercial mobile road enforcement officers driving around in pickups loaded with portable weigh scales, creepers, tape measures, measuring sticks, air gauges, and a ton of commercial vehicle reference manuals looking for those trucks and drivers without the proper credentials and documents.

If a commercial driver does not want to follow the federal and state rules and regulations regarding the operation of commercial commerce, I don't care about them if they lose a weeks pay, get their rigs put out of operation, impounded, licenses revoked, and/or arrested. It was their choice to operate outside of the rules and regulations

They have no business operating a commercial vehicle in any ill-repair condition or without the proper credentials and documents, and while impaired on substances or alcohol, or not following the driver's operating hours rules endangering the lives of other motorists.

 

[slowmover]

Drivers without a current inspection sticker on their windshield do not travel on highways with an open weigh scales or inspection facilities. They bypass those stations and that is why there are commercial mobile road enforcement officers driving around in pickups loaded with portable weigh scales, creepers, tape measures, measuring sticks, air gauges, and a ton of commercial vehicle reference manuals looking for those trucks and drivers without the proper credentials and documents.

If a commercial driver does not want to follow the federal and state rules and regulations regarding the operation of commercial commerce, I don't care about them if they lose a weeks pay, get their rigs put out of operation, impounded, licenses revoked, and/or arrested. It was their choice to operate outside of the rules and regulations

They have no business operating a commercial vehicle in any ill-repair condition or without the proper credentials and documents, and while impaired on substances or alcohol, or not following the driver's operating hours rules endangering the lives of other motorists.

I’m not disagreeing Chief. I am objecting to using Interstate rest areas where men are on break.

That is unacceptable.

And it tells me you’re not a commercial driver. As almost any truck can be found to have “problems” once time/miles add up. Some of inspections is interpretation. The record of the company and of the driver have weight to offset that.

I can find problems with you and with your car to take you off the road. And cancel your income for the days affected. A black mark on your work record that will deny you in ways you don’t understand.

The problem on the road is the automobiles as they cause 80-90% of the wrecks when big trucks are involved.

CB Radio Etiquette is in having one, getting on-air and using it, and being one who’s a well-wisher to others besides staying the hell out of the way.

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