All truck drivers are united by a common CB radio terminology and 10-codes.
If you’ve seen Smokey and the Bandit, you probably already know what 10-4 means.
Should you be scared if you hear “There’s a bear at your back door” from another trucker on the CB radio?
Read below for CB radio terminology and CB radio 10-codes, trucker slang, CB lingo … whatever you want to call it!
10 Destination Names
- Armadillo (Amarillo, Texas)
- Bean Town (Boston, Mass)
- Beer City (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
- Bikini (Miami, Florida)
- Cigar City (Tampa, Florida)
- The Dirty (Cleveland, Ohio)
- Hog Town (Toronto, Ontario)
- Mardi Gras (New Orleans, Louisiana)
- Sack of Tomatoes (Sacramento, California)
- The Swamp (Montreal, Quebec)
23 Words And Sayings
- Anteater (Kenworth T-600 or aardvark named so because of its sloped hood. It was one of the first trucks with an aerodynamic design).
- Alligator (A piece of tire on the road, usually a recap from a blown tire. It looks like an alligator which should be avoided in order not to damage hoses or belts, fuel crossover lines, or the body of your tractor. A baby alligator is a small piece of tire).
- Bambi (A dead or alive deer).
- Bear (A law enforcement officer at any level, but usually a State Trooper, Highway Patrol).
- Bird dog (A radar detector).
- Bubba (What you call another driver, often in a kidding way).
- Chicken coop (A weigh station, often called just a “coop”).
- Comedian (The median strip in between opposite lanes of traffic).
- Cornflake (Refers to a Consolidated Freightways truck).
- Donkey (Behind you like in “A bear is on your donkey”).
- Dragonfly (A truck with no power, especially going uphill).
- Eyeball (To see something).
- 42 (Yes, or OK).
- Good buddy (This used to be the thing to say: “10-4, good buddy”. Not any more, as this calling someone a homosexual).
- Lollipop (The small reflector or marker poles on the sides of the highway).
- Male buffalo (A male prostitute).
- Mama-bear (Refers to a female law enforcement officer).
- Meat wagon (An ambulance).
- Pay the water bill (Taking a restroom break).
- Pumpkin (A Schneider truck, because of it’s orange color).
- Rambo (Someone who talks really tough on the radio, especially when no one else knows where they are).
- Spy in the sky (A law enforcement aircraft, same as a “bear in the air”).
- 10-4 (OK, message received. Some drivers just say “10”).
27 CB “10-Codes”
- 10-1 Receiving poorly
- 10-2 Receiving well
- 10-3 Stop transmitting
- 10-11 Talking too rapidly
- 10-17 Urgent business
- 10-18 Anything for us?
- 10-19 Nothing for you, return to base
- 10-20 My location is…
- 10-21 Call by telephone
- 10-24 Completed last assignment
- 10-26 Disregard last information
- 10-27 I am moving to channel…
- 10-30 Does not conform to FCC rules
- 10-33 Emergency traffic
- 10-34 Trouble at this station
- 10-35 Confidential information
- 10-36 The correct time is…
- 10-37 Wrecker needed at…
- 10-38 Ambulance needed at…
- 10-41 Please tune to channel…
- 10-42 Traffic accident at…
- 10-44 I have a message for you
- 10-62 Unable to copy, use a phone
- 10-70 Fire at…
- 10-85 My address is…
- 10-99 Mission completed, all units secure
- 10-200 Police needed at…
These are, of course, not the full lists of truck drivers’ lingo.
You can find a lot more on the web.
We’ve just collected some of the most popular or most frequently used ones here.
By the way, this holiday season, the truck drivers will also use two popular slang greetings: “happy happy” for Happy New Year (Have a happy happy, driver!); and “merry merry” for Merry Christmas.
