Big-rig truckers have their own special lingo. They call truckers are ‘drivers’ while regular people in cars are ‘four-wheelers’. And an aggressive tailgating car? That’s a ‘bumper sticker’!
Out on the highway, truckers have developed non-verbal communication to allow for smooth travel of fellow drivers (and four wheelers). Very useful to learn these! This is not a complete list; just observations we’ve made while driving on the 400 series highways to race tracks across Ontario.
Flash to Pass: Truckers must stick to the right lane except to pass, but they can’t get by if you’re hogging the left lane impeding traffic. If you get a flash of the high beams from the trucker behind you, move the right lane, four-wheeler! If you didn’t catch the flash of the lights, you WILL hear the air next!
Four-Way Flashers: A visual pat on the back from a trucker. Did you let a trucker merge onto the highway rather than drag racing them to the end of the acceleration lane? Expect a quick flash of the hazard lights to say thanks.
Safe to Merge: When one truck passes another truck (especially at night) the truck getting passed often gives a quick flash of the headlights to let the quicker truck know it is safe to merge into the right lane again. It’s hard to judge the length of a tractor trailer, so if you’re getting passed, give a flash of the lights to a trucker to help out.
Repeated Flashing: Truckers will flash headlights repeatedly at opposing traffic to indicate an obstacle or hazard on the road ahead. Cars may be able to slow in time, but a loaded tractor trailer takes extra distance to slow down from highway speeds.
Air Horn: Only two reasons truckers will use the ridiculously loud horns. A four-wheeler cut right in front of them and deserves to have the crap scared out of them. Or a bunch of little kids are giving the trucker the universal ‘HONK’ gesture. Most truckers ware cool like that.
The Spotlight of Death: Attached to the drivers side view mirror of most trucks is a super bright spotlight. It’s pointed backwards, supposedly to illuminate the side of the truck in a parking lot. But iif you mess with a trucker enough, they will flip this light on to blind you, especially while you are passing them on the left.
Blocking a Lane: Driving a big-rig gives a commanding view of the road ahead. If a trucker sees trouble ahead (a hazard on the road) truckers may move over half a lane to prevent vehicles from passing them. It forces everyone to stay in line until the road ahead is clear. But if a tractor trailer switches to the passing lane without a vehicle in front to pass, there’s definitely trouble ahead. A two truck, police car, or stranded motorist is probably on the shoulder, and the trucker is giving space to the other motorist. You should too.
Chef’s kiss for the Cars clip. Such a fun and clever movie. Back in the day, 10-4 Good Buddy was a thing. I liked that because it’s my birthday. 🙂 great post!
Ha. I didn’t think anyone would even read this post. I’m glad you liked it.
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I was driving on the highway and saw some of these ‘four way flashers’ or ‘flick of the high beams’ and I wondered if regular motorists even know what that stuff means. So I guess I’m trying really hard to pat myself on the back here.
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And another thing…what happened to movies about truckers. Between “Convoy” and “Smokey and the Bandit” the 70s and 80s were full of 18 wheeled cinema!
Pat away! It’s been awhile since we were making long road trips but I have some vague memories of some of those signals. It’s helpful to know what they mean.
Good question! We should reinstate trucker movies instead of everything being based on comics. Or wait. Were there any comics based on trucks??