Long hours on the road are an unavoidable hazard of delivery work and long distance haulage work, so any source of entertainment (no matter how minor) to fill the silence, is a welcome relief. Back in the days before iPods and twelve stackers, the best fun you could have in your truck with your clothes on, was firing up the CB and getting into some chat with a whole lot of like minded strangers. (Or just friends you hadn't met yet!)
Back in the 70's and 80's, movies like Smokey and the Bandit, Breaker Breaker and Convoy spawned a craze of outrageous and sometimes risqué call signs (or handles), that truckers and haulage companies used like their own private language. Mobile phones have all but put an end to the CB phenomenon, but around the world there are still some die-hard 'Rubber Duckies' haunting the haulage companies' airwaves and doing it their way!
Call signs usually come about from someone's appearance, a funny incident on the road, a personality trait (or defect!) or a drivers surname. Usually in the delivery work industry, a nickname or call sign is decided for you by mate or fate and you don't have a say, and is designed to give everyone else a huge laugh at your expense! So we reckon it's time to jump on the bandwagon and make your delivery work more fun by checking out a few of our oldies, goldies (and a few downright strange ones!) and getting inspired to think up your own to make fun of your mates! Go on - you know you want to!
(By the way we take no credit or discredit for any of these real examples found on the web!)
Stormin ol' Norman - Well obviously - but turns out she's a young woman! Go figure!
Twin Haemaroid Floyd - What? They come as twins?
Yogi Bear and Boo Boo - For the big hairy trucker and his little mate, or maybe it was his wife.
Lord Lucan and Nanny - As in 'You've got Lord Lucan here, with Nanny riding shotgun.' (Mmm, he's well read if a little tasteless)
Cue ball - A popular one with the shiny head brigade. (Seemingly very prevalent in haulage companies worldwide!)
Vanilla Smoothie - See above but pasty white as well! Bless!)
Kermit the Brick - Fluorescent road kill?
Slaughter the Transporta - Hope his haulage work is better than his spelling.)
Daughter of Slaughter - We kid you not! (Or was it Dorta of Slaughter?)
The Ginger Ninja - Look out he's over there! No there!
Tex the Lex - apparently the name given to a dyslexic Texan trucker who couldn't read road signs, and ended up causing a massive pile up on a US motorway! He was blacklisted from hundreds of haulage companies! Not nice you guys!
Hutch - Always travelled with his pet rabbits in the cabin of his truck. Mmm, what's up with THAT doc?
Munchkin Clutchpedal - A cute little guy who had to have the clutch pedal modified in his truck before any haulage companies would take him on!
Tea Pot Teddy - Short and stout - say no more!
Slim Jim - Well, the cap fit twenty years ago, but now this guy is HUGE! Beware - names stick!
Two-timer Tom - Not a womaniser, just a guy who could never get his delivery work right the first time!
Prehistoric Haemaroid - Nope, no reason! Apparently this guy just said he wanted something no one else would think of, and he wanted to make people laugh. Job done!
So next time you find yourself caught in the granny lane, get yourself out over the zipper, put the hammer down and see if you can think up a few good ones of your own! Ten-four Big Buddy, I think we got us a convoy!
About the Author
Lyall Cresswell is the Managing Director of Haulage Exchange, the leading online trade network for the road transport industry across the UK and Europe. It can be used in the domestic and international markets to buy and sell road transport services such as delivery work
and freight exchange.
