It's always much easier and faster to use CB radios in such a confined area than find individual phone numbers for the drivers. Communication on ArrivalĪfter travelling for days, the last thing a trucker wants to do after arriving at their destination is to wait around or go in search of somebody who can officially receive their goods.ĬB radios are still commonly used in this situation, particularly when several trucks arrive at once and must wait for their dock assignments. Phone coverage can go down, cutting off disaster-struck victims from emergency services.ĬB radios can theoretically become your only form of communication with the outside world. When it comes to emergency communication, cell phones are a poor choice. In this context, CB radios can be invaluable for dispersing vital information throughout the local area.Ĭritical communication might range from something relatively minor as a blocked lane up ahead, to a major traffic accident. It doesn't matter how fast social media or official travel websites can be - if there isn't somebody on the ground to report an incident, nobody will ever know about it. The technology can be particularly handy if there are road closures and truckers need to try and take unorthodox routes to try and stay on schedule. Due to tight scheduling and long distances that need to be covered, today's trucks usually come with GPS and, of course, their driver's smartphone.Īlthough we can typically rely on GPS and modern applications the vast majority of the time, there are still plenty of gaps, and one of the best ways to fill these is with a CB radio. You will be hard-pressed to find a single truck on the road that doesn't come with the most up-to-date navigational systems available. Still, there are several common usages for citizen's band radios for truckers in 2023. We're certainly not about to suggest that we all throw out our smartphones and revert to the good old days of CB radios. They offer reliable communication in areas where mobile service may be spotty. However, whilst better, more expansive communication devices may have superseded them, these relics of the past are far from done.įor truckers especially, CB radios have various applications. The short answer is that, yes, truckers still rely on CB radios for communication.Īs modern technology has arrived, it's easy to assume that communication devices such as CB radios have become relics of the past, confined to antique shops or those stubbornly holding on to the old ways. But with the introduction of the internet and smartphones, are truckers still using CB radios in 2023? Are CB Radios Still Popular Among Truckers? With truckers often traveling for hundreds, if not thousands of miles alone, these radios were an essential source of communication on those long stretches of highway. These devices were an integral part of life for many, including truckers. CB radios reached their zenith during the 1970s. Popular movies like Smokey and the Bandit (1977) portray a time when the citizen's band radio reigned supreme. In both countries locals usually talk their way out easily(20-30min at most), not sure how long it might take for you.We've all seen films or TV shows that depict truckers chatting away happily on their CB radios. Whenever they stop you if not the radio, they will find a reason(expired medicines, fire extinguishers, dirty numberplates, lights too glary etc.) to write "Protocol"(+legal fine) or to look the other way for a bribe. It also doesn't help that It's quite hard to get accurate information on radios there as they frequently issue various "Predpisanie's"(Orders from authorities) banning #insert text here#. Stops are somewhat less frequent in Turkmenistan but cops are equally as impertinent. Consideing local cops do stop frequently and radios/walkie talkies will definitely attract their attention i would grab a printed copy of the law to flaunt it. (Armenia-Georgia-Azerbadjan-Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan-Kazakhstan-Russia) We are going to self drive and want to be able to easily communicate between the cars.Īre there any restrictions against bringingĪ) car mounted CB radios working on the 27MHz band and/orī) hand held Walkie Talkies - and if so what frequencies are ok for those?Ģ7MHz CBs are allowed in Kazakhstan without any licensing or registration as long as their output is less than 10W. We are planning to travel (parts of) the Silk Road with two cars.
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