Trucking Terms and Trucker Slang

0-9

9-car

Car hauling A car hauler that carries up to nine vehicles. Accelerated’s rigs carry up to nine cars, and every driver needs at least one year of verifiable 9-car experience.

10-4

Slang Message received. It can also mean “I agree,” as in “That’s a big 10-4.”

10-9

Slang Please repeat your last message.

10-20

Slang A location. “What’s your 20?” means “Where are you?”

10-33

Slang Emergency traffic. Clear the channel.

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A

Adverse driving conditions

Rules Snow, ice, sleet, fog or other bad weather, or unusual road or traffic conditions, that the driver could not have known about before the duty day began, or the carrier before dispatching the driver. The hours-of-service rules define the term in 49 CFR 395.2.

Alligator

Slang A piece of blown tire lying on the road. Steer around it.

Autorack

Shipping A rail car with fixed steel racks on two or three levels for carrying vehicles, fitted with tie-down devices. Two-level cars are bi-level autoracks; three-level cars are tri-level.

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B

Back door

Slang Behind you. “A bear at your back door” means police are behind you.

Bat wings

Car hauling Equipment on a car hauler trailer that lets you make the most of the deck you can load. Accelerated’s trailers carry them. See our equipment guide.

Bear

Slang A police officer. Also called Smokey or Smokey Bear.

Bear in the air

Slang A police aircraft watching traffic from above.

Belly pans

Car hauling Panels under a car hauler trailer. Along with trailer skirts, they give the rig cleaner aerodynamics.

Big truck

Slang What drivers call a tractor-trailer on the CB, usually one pulling a trailer.

Bill of lading

Shipping The receipt a carrier issues for the freight it takes on. Federal rules require it to name who sends and who receives the freight, where it starts and ends, and what is being hauled.

Bobtail

Everyday Driving a tractor with no trailer attached.

Breaker

Slang A call to start talking on a CB channel. “Breaker one-nine” calls anyone on channel 19, the channel most truckers use.

Broker

Rules A company that, for pay, arranges for an authorized motor carrier to haul freight. A broker does not haul the freight itself, and federal rules bar it from claiming to be a carrier.

Bumper sticker

Slang A vehicle following too close behind you.

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C

Car hauler

Car hauling A tractor-trailer built to carry vehicles on two levels. Also called a car carrier or auto transporter. It carries new and used vehicles to dealers, auctions and rental lots.

CB radio

Everyday Citizens band radio. Truckers use it to talk to each other about the road, weather and traffic. Channel 19 is known as the highway channel.

CDL

Rules Commercial driver’s license. A license issued by a state that lets you drive a class of commercial motor vehicle. Hauling cars for Accelerated takes a Class A CDL.

Chicken coop

Slang A weigh station.

Chicken lights

Slang Extra marker lights on a truck and trailer, beyond what the law requires.

Commercial motor vehicle (CMV)

Rules Under federal rules, a vehicle used on a highway in interstate commerce to haul property that weighs or is rated at 10,001 pounds or more, among other tests. The full definition is in 49 CFR 390.5.

Condition report

Shipping A record of a vehicle’s condition at pickup and again at delivery. On loads for Accelerated, the driver completes a condition report and a bill of lading for each vehicle, signed by the customer.

Consignee

Shipping The person or company that receives the freight. It is named on the bill of lading.

Consignor

Shipping The person or company that sends the freight. Also called the shipper, and named on the bill of lading.

Convoy

Slang A group of trucks traveling together.

Copy

Slang “I heard you and understand.”

County mountie

Slang A county sheriff or deputy.

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D

DAC report

Everyday An employment history report kept by a private background screening company. It is not a government record, and not every carrier uses one.

Deadhead

Everyday Driving with no load, for example on the way back from a delivery or to the next pickup.

Demurrage

Shipping A charge for holding a ship, rail car or truck longer than the time allowed for loading or unloading.

Dispatcher

Everyday The person at a trucking company who assigns loads and directs where the trucks go. Accelerated’s dispatch team has over 100 years of combined auto transport experience.

Double nickel

Slang 55 miles per hour.

Driveaway-towaway

Rules Moving an empty vehicle with at least one set of wheels on the road, for example from a manufacturer to a dealer. The federal definition is in 49 CFR 390.5. A car hauler carries vehicles on its decks instead.

Driving time

Rules All time spent at the driving controls of a commercial motor vehicle in operation.

DVIR

Rules Driver vehicle inspection report. A written report the driver prepares at the end of each day’s work on each vehicle, covering parts such as brakes, steering, lights, tires, mirrors, coupling devices, wheels and emergency equipment.

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E

ELD

Rules Electronic logging device. A device that automatically records a driver’s driving time and helps record hours of service accurately.

ePOD

Shipping Electronic Proof of Delivery. Every Accelerated truck carries it. Dealers can sign up for automated ePODs and live vehicle tracking.

F

Fifth wheel

Everyday The coupling plate on the back of a tractor that locks onto the trailer’s kingpin and carries the front of the trailer.

Finished vehicle

Shipping A completed new vehicle on its way from the plant, port or processing center to be sold. Car haulers handle the truck leg.

Flip-flop

Slang A return trip, or a U-turn.

For-hire motor carrier

Rules A company that hauls goods or passengers for pay.

Four-wheeler

Slang A passenger car or pickup.

Front door

Slang In front of you.

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G

Go-go juice

Slang Diesel fuel.

Got your ears on?

Slang “Are you listening?”

Gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR)

Rules The maximum loaded weight the manufacturer sets for a single vehicle.

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H

Hammer down

Slang Go fast. Put your foot on the gas.

Hammer lane

Slang The left, passing lane.

Handle

Slang Your nickname on the CB radio.

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I

IFTA

Everyday The International Fuel Tax Agreement. You file one fuel tax return with your base state, and it splits the tax among the states where you drove.

Interstate commerce

Rules Trade or transport between states, or within a state as part of a trip that starts or ends outside it. The full definition is in 49 CFR 390.5.

IRP

Everyday The International Registration Plan. You register your truck with your base state, the fees are split among the states by the miles you drive in each, and the truck carries an apportioned plate.

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K

Kojak with a Kodak

Slang A police officer running radar.

L

Lease-purchase

Car hauling A program where a driver leases a truck and makes the payments out of settlements. At Accelerated there is no money down to start, and more than 100 drivers have paid off their truck leases. See lease-purchase.

Lumper

Everyday A worker who loads or unloads freight.

M

MC number

Rules The number tied to a company’s operating authority. FMCSA’s SAFER system lists it as the MC/MX number.

Motor carrier

Rules A company that provides truck transportation for pay.

N

Negatory

Slang No.

O

OEM

Shipping Original equipment manufacturer. In vehicle shipping, it means the automaker, as in OEM freight from the assembly plants. See OEM transport.

On-duty time

Rules All time from when a driver starts work, or must be ready to work, until the driver is relieved from work. It includes time spent waiting to be dispatched and time inspecting the truck.

Operating authority

Rules The federal registration a for-hire carrier or a broker needs to operate between states.

OTR

Everyday Over the road. Hauling freight wherever it goes, without a fixed route or schedule. Accelerated’s drivers operate over the road and follow the freight.

Out-of-service order

Rules An enforcement officer’s order that takes a driver, a vehicle or a carrier off the road until a problem is fixed.

Owner-operator

Everyday A self-employed driver who runs a truck he or she owns or leases. See car hauler jobs at Accelerated.

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P

Percentage pay

Everyday Pay figured as a share of what the truck earns. At Accelerated, all contract drivers keep 82% of the truck’s gross.

Plain wrapper

Slang An unmarked police car.

Portable parking lot

Slang A car hauler, loaded with vehicles. Some drivers just say parking lot.

Private motor carrier

Rules A company that hauls its own goods by truck and does not haul for hire.

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R

Railhead

Shipping A rail yard where vehicles come off the train. Also called a rail ramp. Car haulers pick vehicles up there for the drive to dealers.

Reefer

Everyday A refrigerated trailer, or the cooling unit on it.

S

SAFER

Rules FMCSA’s free online system. Its Company Snapshot shows a carrier’s or broker’s federal record, searchable by USDOT number, MC number or name.

Semitrailer

Rules A trailer built so that part of its weight rests on the truck that pulls it.

Sleeper berth

Rules The bed area in a truck cab where a driver sleeps. Federal rules set what it must have.

Stinger-steered

Car hauling A car hauler whose fifth wheel sits on a drop frame behind and below the tractor’s rear axle. Stinger units usually carry a rack over the cab.

Sub-hauler

Car hauling An independent carrier, with its own operating authority, that hauls another carrier’s freight. Accelerated’s sub-haulers need their own MC and DOT numbers. See sub-haul for Accelerated.

Surety bond

Rules For a broker, a $75,000 bond or trust fund that federal rules require. It pays shippers or carriers if the broker fails to carry out its deals.

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T

Taking pictures

Slang Police using a radar gun.

Tiedown

Rules A strap or chain that holds cargo down. Federal rules say cars, light trucks and vans must be held front and rear with at least two tiedowns.

Tractor-trailer

Everyday A truck tractor pulling a semitrailer. Also called a semi or an 18-wheeler.

Traditional car hauler

Car hauling A car hauler whose fifth wheel sits on the tractor frame over the rear axles, like most other semis.

Trailer skirts

Car hauling Panels along the sides of a trailer. Along with belly pans, they give a car hauler cleaner aerodynamics.

Transportation intermediary

Rules A company that arranges truck transportation for others. Brokers and freight forwarders are both included.

Truck package

Car hauling A rack on the tractor that lets a car hauler carry vehicles on the tractor as well as the trailer. Most Accelerated rigs have one. See our equipment guide.

Truck tractor

Rules A commercial motor vehicle built mainly to pull other vehicles.

TWIC

Rules Transportation Worker Identification Credential. A card from the TSA that you need for unescorted access to secure areas of ports and other maritime facilities. Accelerated’s drivers hold TWIC credentials for the ports and terminals that require them.

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U

USDOT number

Rules The number FMCSA uses to identify a company in its records. You can look it up in SAFER.

V

VPC

Shipping Vehicle preparation center. A site near a port or plant where vehicles get prepped before they go to dealers. Accelerated hauls from the Mercedes-Benz vehicle preparation center in Baltimore.

W

Weigh station

Everyday A stop off the highway where officers check a truck’s weight. Drivers call it the chicken coop.

Wiggle wagon

Slang A truck pulling two or three trailers.

Y

Yardstick

Slang A mile marker.