This term is less common, since younger drivers are not old enough to remember the original source of the phrase.Ĭhicken Lights: Extra lights on a truck’s exterior.Ĭitizen: A person who is not a trucker or a police officer.Ĭlean Shot: A road free of obstructions, construction, or police officers.Ĭocaine Cowboy: DEA officials looking for illegal narcotics.Ĭomedian: The median between lanes of a divided highway.Ĭomic Book: The log book in which truckers record their hours worked and other details about their trips (called “comic” because the information in it is often falsified to make it look like the trucker is complying with regulations).Ĭonvoy: A group of three or more truckers travelling together, often in a line.Ĭovered Wagon: A flatbed trailer with sidewalls and a tarp instead of a roof. This means that they will sometimes not count the hours that they were driving with a “bobtail” towards the total time they have been on the road in their logbooks.īox: A linear amplifier used to boost a CB transmitter’s power above the maximum limits allowed by the Federal Communications Commission.īrake Check: A traffic slow-down or stop up ahead which will require the truck driver to brake well in advance of other cars in order to stop in time.īrush Your Teeth and Comb Your Hair: Be aware that the there is a radar gun ahead (many radar guns take pictures of speeding drivers, so this is what someone would do if they planned on having their picture taken).īundled Out: A truck that is at maximum capacity and is very heavy.īunny Hopper: A vehicle that frequently changes lanes.Ĭare Bear: A police car with a construction zone, “caring” for the construction workers.Ĭatch Car: A police car parked after a radar set-up so that law enforcement officials can pursue speeding drivers.Ĭhecking Your Eyes for Pinholes: Being tired.Ĭheckpoint Charlie: A drunk driving checkpoint set up by police that looks like a roadblock. Many drivers do not get paid to drive without a load. Someone the police will try to pull over.īear in the Air: A police aircraft looking for traffic violations.īear in the Bushes: A hidden law enforcement officer with a radar gun.īeat the Bushes: Driving ahead of other truckers to try to lure police away from them.īlinders: High beams, not supposed to be used when oncoming drivers may be blinded by the bright light.īobtail: Driving a truck without a trailer attached. Alligators can “bite” truckers and other drivers on the road by bouncing up into hoses, fuel crossover lines, belts, and smaller vehicles’ tires or windshields.īarefoot: A truck that is crossing a mountain pass without any additional traction devices.īean Popper: Someone who is taking a lot of pills (possibly illegal ones).īear Bait: A speeding passenger vehicle that “protects” other speeding vehicles behind it by being more likely to get pulled over and ticketed.īear Bait: A speeding driver or a driver behaving erratically on the road. Here are some of the terms you might hear if you tuned in.Īdvertising: A police car that is flashing its emergency lights.Īlligator: A large piece of blown tire on the road. On the road, truckers communicate with citizens band (CB) radios to warn each other of hazards and to pass the time on long drives. Also known as a Supertrucker.Trucker Lingo: 171 Common CB Radio Slang TermsĮvery profession has its slang, but trucker lingo has a long history of colorful, and sometimes racy, language for the sights and sounds of the American highway system. A baby gator refers to a smaller piece of tire.īear bait - A speeding car that can be followed to protect the vehicles behind it, the first vehicle in a line being the most likely to get a speeding ticket.īear in the air - law enforcement aircraftīilly Bigrigger - A trucker that brags about his rig or his abilities. Gator - A piece of tire lying on road left from a blowout creating a hazard. Since we are now one year further from the heyday of CB radios and the golden age of truckin' I feel like it is appropriate to tip the old cowboy hat to that language that is slowly disappearing on American roadways with a roundup of a few of our favorite terms. As CB radios have slowly disappeared from the cabs of trucks, supplanted by more modern radio equipment and cell phones, trucker slang has slowly faded from the popular consciousness.
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