Reply #27: Not to be a downer or anything, but ...

[A HERETIC I AM]

the term "Good Buddy" is seen as a pejorative in the trucking community.

Ever since that movie "Convoy" with Kris Kristofferson in 1978, and the boom in CB usage by "4 wheelers" and their subsequent over use of that term, it has morphed into an insult phrase, with the connotation of being a homosexual.

Keep in mind that the American Trucker, as a general rule, lives in a relatively separate culture. With present company excluded (Tobin and the other DU truckers, of which I am one with 20 years driving OTR) Saying "10-4 good buddy" or saying "good buddy" to a trucker is essentially calling him a homosexual, and the American Trucking population is pretty Homophobic.

Just a heads up. A lot of the CB "lingo" and protocol that used to be commonplace has gone by the wayside.

Here's an example;

It used to be if you wanted to find out if there were any cops ahead of you, the conversation would go something like this:

Me) "Break One-Nine"
Other Driver (OD) "Go ahead Breaker"
Me) "'Preciate the break. How 'bout ya Southbound, got a copy? (Or "got your ears on? or something similar)

OD) "Ya got a Southbound, go ahead."
Me) "'preciate the comeback, Southbound, how's it lookin' over your shoulder?" (or "how's it lookin' where ya been? or something similar)
OD) Ya got a Diesel bear workin the coops at the 175 yardstick and one shootin ya in the gashole at the 192" (Translation, a "Diesel Bear workin the coops" also known as a "creeper cop" is a DOT officer, doing inspections at the weigh stattion, known as the "chicken coops". "Shooting you in the gashole" means he is shooting radar as you pass, so his radar is hitting the back side of the truck.


Again, that was then. This is now;

Me) "Hey Southbound, where' the cops at?"

None of the break 19 stuff anymore. None of the politeness. Just get to the point. I got to where I didn't even turn my CB on unless I wanted to know the reason the traffic was stopped because the conversation and nonsense just got out of hand, particularly around exits where there are several truck stops. At the very most, I would turn it on long enough to find out roughly where the cops were working and then shut it off. I got to the point of never running more than about 5 over the limit anyway, so I didn't really care where the cops were. Keep in mind I first started driving tractor trailers the year "Convoy" came out and got my first OTR gig in 1987 (the year the national 55 MPH limit was repealed). Times have changed.

It ain't like it used to be.