Smokey and the Bandit was just shown on television again. It made me curious, I haven't heard anything about this for years, it used to be very popular. Is it still in use, particularly in the haulage industry?

Yes, the CB is still in use, especially in the trucking industry. At least it is here in the USA. However, the CB usage that is portrayed in the movie "Smokey.." is not all the same as it is in today's world. Truckers (or "drivers" as they are usually called now) still use it to give "bear" reports and to report any accidents in the road ahead, but you don't want to call another driver a "good buddy" anymore like they did in the movie. When the movie was filmed that was another driver and was a friendly term; somehow during the last 10-15 years that phrase has become to mean you're calling someone "gay" and it becomes an ugly verbal fight after that. The CB is also useful if you're in an unfamiliar area and you need to ask for directions.

Yes, quite so especially in the trucking biz as ClaraSue pointed out. They are required by many warehouses and vendors to call the driver up to the "scales" or dispatch office from a parking/staging area. Many times a "gear jammer" (as we sometimes call ourselves) has to wait his (or her) turn to get assigned a door for loading or unloading, especially if it is a busy place.

Thanks for that, I was wondering if the mobile (cell) phone had taken over but obviously they would be of little use in warnng strangers about 'bears'.

I'd call them UHFs but they're used heaps in more remote areas here too. Most people who would travel in those areas would have them and more often than not mobile phones have no reception. They're vital if there is an accident or in case of a breakdown.

I also use my CB in the truck. When I get in my car, I feel naked without it. We also use it to warn other drivers about traffic backups so they can get off the highway and find a different route if necessary.

Unfortunately a combination of legality followed by changing the frequencies once everyone was on the old ones almost killed it in the UK. Once upon a time you had to queue for a channel (early 80s) and by about 2000 you could hardly hear a voice. I didn't bother to set up here when I moved in but kept the portable in case. Most of the times I flick through it's dead, though despite not having a new frequency transmitter can receive and that's no different. It's a shame as it costs peanuts and for some reason friends and neighbours ever took to it despite being free to use and very addictive, plus everyone you speak to is nearby and we used to meet a few times a week.

As it was legal in the stats forever it'll be a lot harder to kill but here it was only legalized in 1981 and didn't last very long after that relatively speaking. But mine is still around should it ever pick up again.