Do Truckers Still Use CB Radios? What CB Channel?

Truckers used to travel for thousands of miles, living a life on the road, away from civilization. The only form of communication they had with the outside world was the CB radio. If anything went wrong on the road, CB radios were what saved them by allowing them to call out for help.

But now that communication systems have become so efficient, are CB radios still in use? In this article, we are going to talk about whether this favorite mode of communication is still used by truckers.

Do Truckers Still Use CB Radios? 

For a long time, CB radios had been used to establish a proper communication method between the fellow truckers in desolated areas. But with the advancement of technology, things have changed. Although once a very popular medium, the use of CB radios are almost dead now.

In spite of the fact that a lot of truckers have changed to cell phones, a large number of them still rely on CB radios. The sole reason behind this is that the truckers have been dependent on them for a long time, 5, 10, or even over 20 years! So it can be quite hard for them to shift to new technology.

Additionally, the information received from CB radios is local, instantaneous, and up-to-date. Truckers can easily get updated on the current road and weather conditions immediately, which is not possible even by our smartphones due to slow internet connection in the deserted and remote areas.

This is why, many truckers still keep CB radios by their side for times when they go out of the network coverage, where cell phones become useless. If you are using CB radio, make sure you get the best CB antenna for a pickup truck on the market. By choosing the right antenna, you’ll be able to pick the best CB radio for truckers.

There are also CB radios for Jeep, which work really well. And if you prefer a car, you can get a CB radio for off-roading.

What CB Channels Do Truckers Tend to Use?

CB radios have a set of 40 distinct channels in the 27 MHz band for usual communication. Despite the existence of so many channels, the truckers on the road limit their communication to the following few.

Two of the most popular channels among the truckers are channel 17 and channel 19. While channel 17 is most commonly used by truckers on North/Southbound highways on the west coast, channel 19 is known to be famous for being the center frequency of the band for truckers.

The other two mentionable channels are channel 1 and channel 10. Channel 1 is most notably used by the truckers in the eastern USA. Channel 10, on the other hand, is frequently used while traveling on regional roads.

Another noteworthy CB radio channel is channel 9, which is typically used when an emergency situation arises.

Conclusion

Even though the practice of using CB radio seems to have faded to a great extent, it has still maintained its legacy and recognition among the highway truckers in this modern tech-based society, and hopefully, will continue to do so.

Don’t forget to let us know in the comments if you have any opinions regarding our article. Any suggestions are welcomed.

Also, make sure you share the article with your friends and family members.