Why Do You Need A CB?

It happened before dark. The video of the lifeline helicopter coming in was at sunset. There's no question that the driver was distracted with their foot on the firewall but I still contend that having a cb on and paying attention that he or she should have been alerted to the fact that it would have been active with conversation would have prevented the accident. There's little to nothing between Dayton and indianapolis, you don't get much on the radio except for a bear report so the added chatter would alert a driver to an issue coming up. Not to mention, as was discussed, it's flat with tons of visibility.

I could be way off here. It seems to me that if the driver was paying attention and keeping safety in mind, he may have slowed down and been alive today. I feel bad for the driver's family and all the many people who have to sort out this mess.

I could be way off here. It seems to me that if the driver was paying attention and keeping safety in mind, he may have slowed down and been alive today. I feel bad for the driver's family and all the many people who have to sort out this mess.

You're absolutely right and no argument there. I was just trying to point out how beneficial the cb can be. He hit that flatbed at a full head of steam, enough to snap off the kingpin on the trailer which is not an easy feat. When I used to build trucks, we would have units that went off the side of a mountain and were still attached to the trailer.

I don't see the remains of a bulkhead in the photo. Would a trailer bulkhead have reduced the damage?

I don't see the remains of a bulkhead in the photo. Would a trailer bulkhead have reduced the damage?

When getting hit that hard, unfortunately no. You don't see the front bulkhead on flatbed trailers much anymore, part of the claim is that the cargo box provides a bit of protection.

This should not have happened with or without a CB. We all come upon stopped or slowed traffic at least a couple times a week. If you are paying attention to the road ahead of you, you should be fine. If you need a CB to alert you to pay attention to the road ahead of you, find a new career. Often times, there are electronic signs along sides and above highways that warn of situations coming ahead to be cautious of, if drivers must have advanced warning to begin paying attention to the road rather than phone, radio, passenger, pets or whatever they deem more important than their actual job of driving.

This is why. This accident happened yesterday on 70 at the Ohio/Indiana border. Traffic was stopped for another accident, this driver was still running 60mph right into the back of the stopped flatbed. The driver of the Swift truck died, the impact was so hard that it broke the kingpin on the flatbed driving the trailer into the truck and knocking the cab off the frame.

Get a cb, use it and pay attention while driving. This should never happen.

OMG!! So sad. Good chance Swift driver was killed instantly on impact from looks of his cab. Do all trucks come w/ CB or are we to buy our own? Does the schools teach you how to use it?

What's also interesting is the future of CB radios as far as "distracted driving" goes. If talking on cell phones is illegal, how can they say talking on CB radios is legal? I'm hoping there isn't enough attention on the matter to worry about it because they would be doing a huge disservice by preventing real time communication amongst drivers in close proximity like that.

I think its highly unlikely (though still very possible these days) that they would make CBs carry the same rules/regs/penalties, because it is an industry standard. In addition to being an industry standard it is like you said HUGE for real time communication between anyone that can xmit and receive.

I follow this line of reasoning: law enforcement, EMS, firefighters, all use radios in their vics and or on their person while operating vehicles, saving and or taking lives.

In addition to that, we also do it in the military, a lot. ( I understand that military and emergency services are often held to different regulations when it comes to communications and vehicles.)

So if all those professions that are required to keep the world going need em' and use em' Im confident we'll get to keep on using em' because after all Truck drivers are professionals that are required to keep the world going, and we need em'.

So if all those professions that are required to keep the world going need em' and use em' Im confident we'll get to keep on using em' because after all Truck drivers are professionals that are required to keep the world going, and we need em'.

That's an excellent point and I hope you're right.

What's also interesting is the future of CB radios as far as "distracted driving" goes. If talking on cell phones is illegal, how can they say talking on CB radios is legal? I'm hoping there isn't enough attention on the matter to worry about it because they would be doing a huge disservice by preventing real time communication amongst drivers in close proximity like that.

I think its highly unlikely (though still very possible these days) that they would make CBs carry the same rules/regs/penalties, because it is an industry standard. In addition to being an industry standard it is like you said HUGE for real time communication between anyone that can xmit and receive.

I follow this line of reasoning: law enforcement, EMS, firefighters, all use radios in their vics and or on their person while operating vehicles, saving and or taking lives.

In addition to that, we also do it in the military, a lot. ( I understand that military and emergency services are often held to different regulations when it comes to communications and vehicles.)

So if all those professions that are required to keep the world going need em' and use em' Im confident we'll get to keep on using em' because after all Truck drivers are professionals that are required to keep the world going, and we need em'.

As reasonable as that may be, those who decide things need to be regulated are often not reasonable.