“Keep it clear so we can hear” plead emergency monitoring organizations.

Overt abuse of the UHF CB channels 5 and 35 is creating major issues for emergency monitoring organizations across Australia.

Under the CBRS class licence, both channels 5 and 35 are designated emergeny communication channels, to be used only for distress calling and placing emergency calls.

Blatent disregard for the legislation is increasingly becoming a major issue for emergency monitoring organizations such as as the South East Queensland UHF Emergency Service Team (SEQUEST), who believe that ongoing lack of enforcement will eventually cost lives.

“There seems to be a blatent disregard for the rules surrounding the use of emergency channels on the CB radio service. Abuse of the channel 5 repeater by trucking and traffic controllers continues to override legitimate emergency traffic, greatly impeding our ability to respond to legitimate emergency calls”.

Curtis Bayne – Technical Director – South East Queensland UHF Emergency Service Team

SEQUEST has begun a marketing campaign pleading users to “keep it clear so we can hear”. So far the campaign has reached over 100,000 users on social media, but the group is afraid this might not be enough.

“We are hoping that people take notice of the campaign and emphasise the importance of the emergency channel allocations”, Mr Bayne said. “We are also hoping that third party organizations where heavy users of the CBRS congregate such as service stations and construction sites might consider posting the message on fences, walls, billboards etc. to assist us in spreading our message”.