CB Radio

Citizens Band Radio had been around for years, but few people knew about them. 23 channels of two-way communication, frequented by curious techno-geeks, lost hikers and truckers. 

The trucker was his own boss. The trucker was King of the Road (or so the myth went). The only way these men stood a chance of getting ahead was to drive as fast as their heart rates (which given the widespread amphetamine abuse at the time amongst truckers, was pretty bloody fast).

When the media made it known that truckers routinely used CB radio to get around the speed limit, the public went wild for the things. While only 1 million people had obtained CB licenses in the USA between 1958 and 1973, more than 2 million licenses were issued in 1974 alone. Soon every freeway driver had to have one, and everyone was on the prowl for 'Smokey". A lot of fun was to be had in ripping off 'the man' and driving as fast as you jolly well liked. But there was also tremendous appeal in talking that crazy trucker talk. 

Phrases like "Breaker breaker" and "that's a big 10-4 good buddy" crept into conversations, and people who should have known better, began swapping their CB names, or 'handles'. Betty Ford even had one - "First Mama". Americans everywhere demonstrated their talent for talking a lot and saying very little.

Eventually there were so many idiots fouling the airwaves that more channels were needed and the 40 channel models were released. 

CB songs rode high in the charts (particularly Convoy by C.W. McCall - a pseudonym of ad agency director Bill Fries) and trucker films and television shows fuelled the global fantasy, led by the flagship of all trucker flicks, Convoy (based on the aforementioned song and starring Kris Kristofferson as Rubber Duck). By 1980 the fad had died. People simply grew tired of tuning into tedious trivial talk. Nobody wants to interact when there is no action.

CB Speak

At your back door - Behind a truck. "You got a bear at your back door."
Bear/Smokey - A county or state cop.
Bear in the air - A police airplane that monitors highway speeds below.
Bobtail - Running without a trailer.
Bulldog - A Mack truck.
Bumper Sticker - An automobile following you too closely. 
Cash Register - A toll booth. "You're coming up on a cash register at yardstick 154."
City Kitty - A female city police officer.
Got your ears on? - Used when looking for someone on the CB. 
Granny Lane - The slow lane on a highway or freeway.
Hammer Down - Go fast, step on it.
Hammer Lane - The fast, passing lane on a highway or freeway. 
Kojak with a Kodak - A police officer with a radar gun. 
Meat Wagon - Ambulance.
Plain White Wrapper - An unmarked police car.
Reefer - A refrigerated cargo trailer. 
Road Pizza - Badly mangled road kill.
Sesame Street - CB channel 19. Named because of child-like behaviour that sometimes occurs, especially around urban areas.
Skateboard - A flatbed trailer.
Yardstick - A mile marker alongside a highway

CB Codes

CQ General Call
QRT Stop sending
QTA Cancel message
QTH Location
QRZ Who is calling?
QTR Exact time
10-1 Receiving poorly
10-36 Correct time
10-2 Receiving well
10-3 Stop transmitting
10-38 Ambulance needed
10-4 Message received
10-6 Busy, stand by
10-42 Traffic accident
10-7 Out of service
10-44 I have a message
10-10 Transmission Ends
10-11 Talking too rapidly
10-62 Unable to copy
10-13 Advise Weather or Road conditions
10-17 Urgent business
10-70 Fire
10-20 My location is
10-23 Stand by
10-26 Disregard last
10-99 Mission completed
10-200 Police needed
10-33 Emergency Traffic
10-35 Confidential