Trucker Talk

Truck drivers are professionals who have their own terminology for many different events that take place. They often talk to each other on the CB to offer assistance and information to each other. The most common phrase that truck drivers use that most of us are aware of is the term 10/4. This basically means they have acknowledged what was said and they are signing off. 

Truck drivers generally warn each other about road hazards and safety issues. The term four wheeler refers to a regular sized vehicle on the road. They may want to let other drivers behind them know about a car on the side of the road ahead or other concerns. They also notify each other of cops by various terms – a smokey is a cop on the ground in a car, Evil Kinevil is one on a motorcycle, and a bear in the air is in reference to speed being monitored by aircraft.  

We have all seen those large pieces of rubber from semi truck tires on the highway. They are referred to as alligators. Road kill is a common site on many roads, and truck drivers refer to it as road pizza. Flat bed trailers are often referred to as skateboards. Tractor trailers are commonly referred to as a box. 

If you see a truck moving without a trailer attached to it, truckers call this bobtailing. While it saves them of fuel mileage, it is a bumpy road without that trailer on the back to help smooth things out.

At truck stops you may hear the term lot lizard. This is in reference to the girls who are wondering around in the parking lot trying to get paid to perform sexual favors for truck drivers. They call them lizards because they scramble when they see light from security or the cops. You can even see them dangerously walking underneath moving trailers on semi trucks to avoid being caught. 

Some of the lot lizards stay in their vehicles to avoid being detected by security. They use codes on the radio asking if someone wants their chrome polished or their truck detailed. These are code words for various types of sexual favors – yet they can’t be charged with anything if a cop hears them say these terms over the CB radio frequency.

You will find that some of the slang used on the CB’s varies by location on the country. There are many different variations and many of the long term truck drivers are able to correctly identify the region another driver is from just by the terminology they use. For the most part though trucker talk is common knowledge among this profession.

The truck talk that pertains to safety issues seems to be more standardized across the board. It is the terms that refer to other aspects out there that seem to come with the most variations associated with them. 

While most of us have no reason to learn truck talk, it can be interesting to understand what they are talking about if you work in a truck stop or you have a CB in your vehicle. I have learned various types of trucker talk listening to my husband and other drivers talking around me. While I find some of their terminology to be silly, it serves its purpose.