Ontario Trucking News, Issue 114, January 2013

eMPlOyMenT
From the
Driver’s
Seat
By: Carl MCBriDe
carl@
woodwardpublishing.com
CB
Radios
42 January 2013
.
The CB Radio has
for many decades
been the trucking
industry’s workhorse for
communication between
vehicles. Now it seems
that it might be regulated
away by certain governments.
My first CB was a TRC-
450. She was a 40-channel
sweetheart equipped with
40 extra upper and lower
sideband channels. On a
good day I had a 30-mile
range, so I was always
aware of what was going
on in front of me and behind.
I always knew where
traffic tie-ups were and the
locations of any county
Mounties.
In emergency situations
such as a first-on-thescene
at a highway accident,
the CB was used to
get help – this long before
cell phones were around.
I took a little road trip to
the 10 Acres Fuel Stop in
Belleville, Ontario by the
401 highway to ask the
question:
“Does the CB Radio still
have a place in the trucking
industry?”
Tim Herweyer drives
for Laidlaw Transport in
Woodstock, Ontario. “Yes,
a CB Radio is always going
to be in my truck wherever
I am. It is used every day
on the highway. In urban
areas it’s great if you need
local information such
as the location of a new
customer. On the highway
it comes in handy
knowing about slow traffic,
construction or accidents
ahead. In areas where cell
phones don’t work the CB
will always be there for
you. It would be nice to
see the CB get hands free.
I am sure one could be
developed. A hands free
operation would have to
prove itself before I would
buy one. Develop one and
let’s see if it has a place in
my truck.”
Andre Houle owns and
operates Transport Andre
Houle based in Mount
Laurier, Quebec: “Yes! The
CB radio is a very important
tool in the kind of
trucking I do. When I travel
to Ontario or New
Brunswick it is always
good to know what is going
on around you. In
Quebec I do a lot of logging
in the mountains and
my radio is a work tool. In
the spring when you are
off the main roads the
radio can save your life if
you get in trouble. The CB
Radio will always be my
partner in the truck. No
regulations will ever
change that.”
J. wiles drives for the
Orillia Ontario based James
Wiles Trucking: “Running
the type of flatbed loads I
get to work with, my CB
is a working tool in the
truck. Loads like the limestone
I am carrying are hard
enough to pick-up. Rock
quarries are hard enough to
get in and out of. Without a
radio in the truck it would
be an all day job. So yes, the
CB Radio will never leave
my truck, hands free or not.
They are not a toy but a
working tool of the industry.
In emergency situations the
CB Radio has saved many
lives since it first arrived on
the scene decades ago. To
try and regulate it away isn’t
going to happen.” V