Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/947211
VOICES 8 | Overdrive | March 2018 "Eastbound, gotcher ears on? How's that coop lookin'? East- bound? Come on?" This is a normal request on the CB. (You know, the little metal box with a mic? Yeah. That thing.) Not a lot of days go by without hearing at least one coop condition query. It's part of the natural landscape in the transportation jungle. Kin- da like the West Memphis "blue smoke, white smoke, green smoke" guy, it's just something you expect to hear. According to the overwhelming majority of people who answered our recent George & Wendy Show social media post – "Finish this thought: "I (do/do not) respond to 'coop updates' on the CB, because _____." – the people who do run a CB choose to respond because "that's what truckers do." George always has been in favor of having his CB on, and he gives bear and coop updates, because he appreciates knowing those things himself. I mean, who doesn't? But, of course, like every other nice thing we have on the road, a select few have to ruin it some- times. You've all heard one of these people. They key in every fi ve seconds for 45 miles leading up to the scales, "Eastbound? Anybody got a copy on that coop up ahead?" And for whatever reason, even when someone from Eastbound answers, they continue to ask about the dang coop. We all know coop status is subject to change, but could you be more obvious here? By the ninth request for coop info, I'm pretty con- vinced this driver is hauling dead endangered species carcasses stuff ed with hero- in and has been driving for nine days straight in a truck that runs on baby kitten souls. Honestly, man, cut it out. We got in a little pack running WB I-70 through Illinois and had a guy ask about the Collinsville scale no less than 15 times in 25 minutes. The requests weren't what was so maddening. What made me want to strangle him was his lack of faith in the information that the scale was indeed open, because he was told the Collinsville scale was "open fo' bidness, drivah" at least three of the 15 times he'd asked about it. People like this are one of the reasons CBs get turned off or not installed at all. They abuse what is consid- ered a common courtesy and ruin it for the rest of us. Not everyone wants to know if the coop is open because they're running white rhino steaks marinated in Peruvian fl ake cocaine, haven't slept for more than 12 seconds in the past fi ve years, or run their logs on an Etch A Sketch. Some people want to know, well, because it's what truckers do. Eastbound,don't be that guy Wendy Parker chronicles her journey on the road with her owner-operator husband, George, in the George and Wendy Show blog on OverdriveOnline.com. " Well said! In the 'olden days', the CB was alive and, however, not well! Much swearing/nasty chats, and a few had truly taken advantage of the higher output. However, every once in a while, it remains helpful, i.e. weather, traffic, etc. The industry has changed drastically in 40, 50 years (except the rates). Maybe some of these angry-at- the-world types will fade away. " — Dan K, via OverdriveOnline.com " I am surprised many truckers don't realize that the chicken coops will monitor the CB radio traffic. Many times, I turn my CB down, as I don't need to hear the same information 100 miles down the road. " — Gene Groby, via OverdriveOnline.com " Sounds like the driver was trying to get an average from multiple respondents. Sometimes the replies don't count because they come from the ignorant, hence the need for additional queries. " — Allan McCullough, via OverdriveOnline.com ANYBODY GOT A COPY ON THE COOP SITUATION? EVEN IF YOU ANSWER, I MIGHT JUST ASK AGAIN.