# Trucker bombs-do they actually do this? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 29, 2005, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trucker-bombs-do-they-actually-do-this/323980 "2005-09-29T03:29:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trucker-bombs-do-they-actually-do-this/323980/1 "2005-09-29T03:29:12Z")
So I’m watching the _Daily Show_ from last night, and Samantha Bee is interviewing truckers who are angry about a new law forbidding them from tossing their piss bottles (aka “trucker bombs”) out of the window. WTF-do they actually DO this? Or was this a joke arranged for the _Daily Show_? Eeeeeeeeew. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trucker-bombs-do-they-actually-do-this/323980/2 "2005-09-29T03:32:41Z")
Littering is already a punishable offense and piss bottles would fall under that category. I think they were messing with people and just needed an excuse to use the words “Trucker bomb”. IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![John\_F](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/43a26b/32.png) [@John\_F](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_F)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trucker-bombs-do-they-actually-do-this/323980/3 "2005-09-29T03:36:17Z")
I bet it’s true but I wonder why we need a specific “piss littering” law to supercede normal littering? Is the fine more? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trucker-bombs-do-they-actually-do-this/323980/4 "2005-09-29T03:40:08Z")
No, it’s quite real. There was just an article about it in a local paper. I think alot of it started becuse the people that mow the grass along the freeway were getting tired of running over bottles and wondering what just sprayed all over them. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trucker-bombs-do-they-actually-do-this/323980/5 "2005-09-29T03:42:32Z")
I had heard of [this](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7912464/) before The Daily Show told me. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trucker-bombs-do-they-actually-do-this/323980/6 "2005-09-29T03:42:57Z")
[Ahhhh, here it is.](http://www.jsonline.com/bym/news/jun05/334361.asp) ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trucker-bombs-do-they-actually-do-this/323980/7 "2005-09-29T03:43:52Z")
Well, that sounds snarky. What I meant was that the Daily Show didn’t invent the phenomenon or the term. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trucker-bombs-do-they-actually-do-this/323980/8 "2005-09-29T03:46:16Z")
> [@chaoticbear](#): > > I had heard of [this](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7912464/) before The Daily Show told me. See, now that’s just disgusting. At least my link doesn’t have a picture of (wait let me go back and count) TWENTY SIX GALLONS OF URINE right on the front page. All though that may make a nice wallpaper for someone elses computer. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trucker-bombs-do-they-actually-do-this/323980/9 "2005-09-29T03:54:39Z")
I remember seeing them a lot on I-15/I-70 thereabouts in Utah. Freakin’ gross. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trucker-bombs-do-they-actually-do-this/323980/10 "2005-09-29T03:55:38Z")
It’s definitely real, at least in my realm of the kingdom. Some Airmen, Soldiers, Marines, etc. are too lazy to leave their tent to go to the latrine trailer, so they pee in bottles in their tents. Eventually, they throw those bottles out, and some poor schlep has to empty a trashbag full of a bunch of guys’ pee. Sometimes they don’t throw 'em out quick enough, and for whatever reason, the plastic water (now pee) bottle breaks. Yeah, it _does_ happen. Tripler I’ve never done the bottle thing, but I’d admit, I was two tents away from the latrine trailer. ---
**Author:** ![Susie\_Derkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Susie\_Derkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susie_Derkins)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trucker-bombs-do-they-actually-do-this/323980/11 "2005-09-29T03:56:36Z")
Yeah, it happens. I used to date a truck driver, and I went out on the road with him once for a two-week trip. He warned me that I might see things like that at the truck stops, and talked about how a few truckers could ruin the public’s opinion of the profession by doing nasty stuff like that. Really, there’s no need for it…if you drive a rig you have to stop pretty regularly anyway (at least we did) and if you must pee into a bottle you can at least dispose of it properly, even if you only stop once per day. But I actually saw a _gallon jug_ filled to the top with golden goodness, sitting on the ground at one of our stops. ---
**Author:** ![soulmurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@soulmurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulmurk)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trucker-bombs-do-they-actually-do-this/323980/12 "2005-09-29T04:51:54Z")
> [@Susie Derkins](#): > > Really, there’s no need for it…if you drive a rig you have to stop pretty regularly anyway (at least we did) and if you must pee into a bottle you can at least dispose of it properly, even if you only stop once per day. Most drivers don’t stop very often at all. You’re only “earnin’ if the wheels are turnin’”, and despite the laws limiting how many hours a driver can drive per day, it’s not uncommon at all to drive for 16+ hours straight. Couple that with the frequent imbibing of diuretics like coffee and soda, and, well, you can guess the rest. Personally, when I was driving, I only used a bottle in an emergency. Sometimes the need strikes when you’re 65 miles from the nearest rest stop, and pulling over on an uneven shoulder isn’t an option. But I always disposed of it properly, and I never did understand why some guys seemed to enjoy tossing them out the window. The worst were the garbage recepticles closest to the parking spots in a busy truckstop… they were usually overflowing with re-filled bottles. Leant to a pretty sickening smell in the hot sun. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trucker-bombs-do-they-actually-do-this/323980/13 "2005-09-29T17:01:51Z")
Note-I was not shocked by the knowledge that truckers pee in bottles-that’s pretty much a given, although it’s not something I ever really thought about. No, what gets me is that some truckers actually throw them out of their trucks, and seem angry that there’s a LAW against it. Da’hell? Piss in the bottle, stick it in a trash bag, and wait until you find a place with a dumpster. Or something. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trucker-bombs-do-they-actually-do-this/323980/14 "2005-09-29T17:04:51Z")
I saw these when I lived in SoCal, and I see them here in NoWA. I’ve never seen anyone actually throw one though. I’ve driven many times between SoCal and NoWA. Many times has me bladder been bursting. But I always waited until I arrived at a gas station or rest stop. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trucker-bombs-do-they-actually-do-this/323980/15 "2005-09-29T17:20:25Z")
“Most drivers whiz along the nation’s highways largely oblivious to their roadside surroundings. But next time you are out there, take a closer look” ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trucker-bombs-do-they-actually-do-this/323980/16 "2005-09-29T17:41:34Z")
It’s been a long-standing problem in California as well. [This article](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/06/16/BA204019.DTL&sn=002&sc=776) appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle two years ago. I don’t know about Washington, but Caltrans considers the stuff to be medical waste and calls in the hazmat crew to pick it up. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trucker-bombs-do-they-actually-do-this/323980/17 "2005-09-29T18:38:06Z")
I am reminded of former Minutemen bassist Mike Watt’s loving ode to his father, “Piss-Bottle Man,” which featured sensitive vocals by head Lemonhead Evan Dando. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trucker-bombs-do-they-actually-do-this/323980/18 "2005-09-29T19:04:48Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > Caltrans considers the stuff to be medical waste and calls in the hazmat crew to pick it up. At (guessing) $300/call? How do they cope with dog poop? ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trucker-bombs-do-they-actually-do-this/323980/19 "2005-09-29T19:11:44Z")
How hard would it be just to pour it out?! I mean geeez! The rain would wash it away and you wouldn’t be littering. I’ve been known to pee in a cup in the privacy of my van and pour it out on the side of the road. No harm done. Sealed bottles of pee? Nasty. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trucker-bombs-do-they-actually-do-this/323980/20 "2005-09-29T19:27:12Z")
> [@Joey P](#): > > TWENTY SIX GALLONS OF URINE Band name! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trucker-bombs-do-they-actually-do-this/323980.md?page=2)