Gmrs is pay and go, no test. Also the license covers your family. The lack of proof of work before transmitting shows in the chatter you hear though for sure.
Discussion
man, you hear chatter on gmrs? i'm lucky if those two guys i sometimes catch are around. otherwise it's a ghost town
Still on the first page of my book, so none of this makes any sense. Can't wait to come back and spew acronyms though. See you soon 📻
Gmrs is a separate radio "service" with different rules than ham.
Last time I turned on my gmrs radio there was chatter on the local repeaters during drive time but otherwise quiet. I never join in because of the quality drop compared to ham.
I use gmrs walkie talkie style for camping in places with no cell reception. Easier than forcing my wife to get a ham license.