CB Slang / Location talk
What's Your 20 in trucking
Plain-English explanation
"What's your 20" is a question asking for someone's location. The 20 comes from the APCO ten-code system: 10-20 means "What is your location?" or "My location is [location]." In CB radio usage, this was shortened to just "your 20" or "what's your 20?" — skipping the 10- prefix and using the number alone. Location sharing on CB has both practical and social uses. Practically, drivers checking in with dispatch or coordinating with another driver need to know position. A driver calling ahead to a truck stop to see if another driver has already arrived asks "what's your 20?" to find out how far out they are. A dispatcher tracking multiple trucks might ask each one for a 20 at a check-in point. Socially, asking for a 20 during a CB conversation was a way to gauge how long the exchange could continue — knowing the other driver was 30 miles behind meant a longer conversation was possible before they went out of range. It also helped coordinate impromptu convoys: "I'm at the 88 heading your way, what's your 20?" The phrase has gone well beyond trucking CB into general popular culture. "What's your 20?" appears in films, TV shows, and everyday speech as a casual way of asking where someone is. In that broader context, it no longer refers specifically to radio communication but functions as a slightly playful way to ask for a location.
CB slang is road shorthand. It can help with awareness, but dispatch notes, load paperwork, inspection records, and claims still need formal language.
Why it matters in trucking
As a practical location question, "what's your 20?" comes up in trucking coordination even outside CB radio — by phone, by text, in dispatch apps. Understanding that it is simply asking for a current location prevents any confusion about the ten-code reference.
The value is speed and shared awareness. The limit is that slang should never replace exact times, locations, document names, or safety-critical instructions.
Example in real use
A dispatcher calls a driver and asks "Hey, what's your 20?" The driver replies "Just passed exit 44, about 20 miles out from the receiver." The dispatcher has what they need to estimate arrival and notify the consignee.
Where you might hear it
What’s your 20 appears when someone asks for a driver’s location.
What to check first
- Ask for mile marker, city, facility, or direction.
- Do not confuse location with ETA.
- Write the actual location in dispatch notes.
Common mistakes or confusion
- Responding to "what's your 20" with a narrative about the drive rather than just the location — the question wants a position, typically a mile marker, exit number, or town name.
- Using the phrase in formal written records — "what's your 20" is informal radio and conversational shorthand; dispatch notes and written logs should use specific addresses or coordinates.
- Treating it as strictly radio vocabulary when it has entered common conversational use — most trucking professionals and many people outside trucking understand it as a location question.
Related terms
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Last updated: 2026-05-10