Originally Posted By: hikermor

Along nearly all major highways, does one not have cellphone coverage, so that a radio is not required to summon help. Radios aren't always that dependable, for that matter.


First car my wife and I bought when we got married we had a cell phone before they had batteries. Driving on the highway a fusible link blew and we lost all vehicle power which also prevented us from using the phone. We were close enough to an exit to walk to find a place to call AAA.

A couple summers ago we were driving through PA and heard on CB channel 19 "anyone have a cell phone I can borrow" and came around a curve in the highway and there was a truck off the side of the road. We stopped and the drivers cell phone was dead and the truck had no electric power. We let him charge his phone from my truck and use our phone to call his company to request help.

So there are times when cell phones are not dependable either and there are times where the broadcastability of radios can help as well. Don't toss the hammer because you have a screwdriver, keep both.