Trucking is a unique industry. If you spend time around truck drivers, you’ll notice that they seem to have their own language — a unique dialect of words and phrases that only they understand. If you are unfamiliar with trucker lingo or want to brush up on your knowledge of the basics, this guide will help get you started.
General Truck Driver Slang
Join the conversation by learning some of the most common truck driver phrases and words that you’ll hear from others on the road:
- All locked up: A closed weigh station
- Alligator: A piece of tread on the road, usually a blown tire
- Bear: Law enforcement officer
- Buster brown: UPS truck
- Cheese wagon: School bus
- Chicken coop: Weigh station
- Driving award: Speeding ticket
- Evel Knievel: Law enforcement on a motorcycle
- Go-go juice: Diesel fuel
- Greasy: Icy or slippery
- Hundred-mile coffee: Very strong coffee
- Nap trap: Motel room
- Pay the water bill: Using the bathroom
- Salt shaker: Truck that salts highways
- Throwin’ iron: Putting on snow tire chains
- Travel agent: Dispatcher
- Triple digits: Over 100 mph
- Threes and eights: Best wishes
- Wally world: Walmart or a Walmart truck
- Yardstick: Mile marker
CB 10 Lingo
Truckers use CB radio systems to communicate with one another. CB radio has its own unique set of codes, slang, and acronyms — all of which can be pretty confusing to a newcomer. Knowing common radio codes will help you decode this truck driver lingo so you can understand what your buddies are saying behind the wheel:
- 10-1: Receiving poorly
- 10-2: Receiving well
- 10-3: Stop transmitting
- 10-4: Roger or Yes
- 10-5: Relay message
- 10-6: I’m busy
- 10-7: Out of service
- 10-8: In service
10-9: Repeat the message - 10-10: Transmission Complete
Trucker Names for Cities
Truck driver slang isn’t just for the things you encounter on the road — many major cities have earned their own unique nicknames on the CB radio. Some city names include:
- Steel City or Steel Town: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Beantown: Boston, Massachusetts
- Shaky Town: Los Angeles, California
- Beer City or Brew City: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Windy City: Chicago, Illinois
- The Gateway: St. Louis, Missouri
- Music City: Nashville, Tennessee
- The Swamp: Montreal, Quebec
- Choo-Choo: Chattanooga, Tennessee
- The Dome: Houston, Texas
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