Though trucking has always been a predominantly male industry, the number of women drivers has been surging in recent years, and according to carriers, that’s a very good thing.
In 2010, women made up only 4.6% of all commercial truck drivers, but just 4 years later that number had risen to 5.8%. Bloomberg News interviewed female drivers and a series of carriers about the increase.
Women truck drivers aren’t a new phenomenon. Stephanie Klang, a veteran trucker, has been driving professionally since 1980. She says that improvements like power steering, cleaner and safer truck stops, and the addition of women’s showers at rest areas has made a huge difference.
“I’d have to get up at 2 a.m. and they’d close the men’s room for me,” said Klang in an interview with Bloomberg. “Now, the showers are all private and clean.”
Resources like REAL Women in Trucking have had a big impact by providing new and experienced drivers with resources, and carriers are now starting to focus recruiting efforts on women – and for good reason.
While national safety statistics aren’t broken down by gender, according to Werner Enterprises COO, Derek Leathers, female drivers are outperforming their male counterparts in multiple areas including inspection and compliance issues and accidents. Covenant Transport CEO David Parker added that his female drivers tend to be more cautious and attentive.
Not surprisingly, Werner has been focusing on recruiting women and by year’s end, Leathers expected women to make up 10% of the fleet’s drivers.
“It’s important to kind of rebuff the myths,” said Leathers. “They are winning in multiple categories across the fleet.”
Next Story: Driver’s Coughing Fit Sends Rig Into 23 New Cars
Source: bloomberg, newsleader, bendbulletin, news4jax, richmond, insurancejournal
Last week at a Pilot, just south of Jacksonville off I-95, I watched a man park a U S Express truck in a tight spot with a woman in the passenger seat. After he finished he got out, walked by me and another guy, and said, “It’s not my truck.” The woman had gone into the building to find someone to park her truck. I adopted 4 girls and taught them to kick the boys butts at every opportunity, but if you cannot do the job don’t take the job.
Most the Weman I see do a very good job. They strive for excellence and proud of what they do I wish you all the very best thank you.
What rest areas have showers? I’ve never seen one.
Does it matter,when they are working so hard to replace all of us with driverless trucks? What I really wonder about is what are we going to do when all the women become men?
It’s about dark, i95 pilot in Connecticut, one open space to park and a lady driver starts a blindside . As always I got out to assist if needed, first attempt , Purfect.
The lady got out to thank jme and said ” thanks, it’s been a day I wont forget. I just had my first solo trip across the GW. Her first trip! I hope she and all women out there get the respect they deserve, GENTELMEN!
“According to werner enterprises “? That’s hilarious!
Of course werner lives them, they pay them even less than the poor men who make the mistake of driving for them!
Trucking has become an industry of modern slavery,now theyre focusing in women and teenagers to drive their trucks,i wonder whats next
Robots
Europe already has them. One driver two trucks . Just like turnpike doubles.
This “article” is a joke. Does anyone buy this BS?
I’ve been hit 3 times. 2 of those by women. I had a female trainee break down and cry doing 70mph down the freeway. Had a male do the same. I think people are people and statistics are always altered.
Coming from a company like Werner this sounds like what mostly comes out.of this industry these days…Propaganda! If you are trying to recruit more female drivers would you tell everyone they are under performing? I think not. I’ve watched many women struggle with the same problems we all do in trucking. I’ve watched just as many women who could not back up a 53′ trailer into a parking place at a truck stop. It’s not about gender… it’s about training ( or the lack thereof). When a company treats new inexperienced driver trainees like team drivers in most cases they don’t get much effective training, they just get seat time and that’s not training. Under trained or poorly trained drivers are 10 times more likely to develope bad habits no matter if they have problems or not. Since there is no effective way to measure performance based on gender (because doing so would violate federal profiling laws and be highly unethical) I wonder how Werner came to this conclusion. Interesting… isn’t it?
I knew this was propaganda when I read they now have private showers for women. I have been driving for almost 40 years and I never once had to shower with a bunch of other men. I have always had a private shower even when it cost only 1 dollar.
Like the lady in this story. I had to take a shower in the men’s room and other places . My husband would stand guard the door for me . This was back in 1990s. There were not very many truckstop either. That has change we now have a lot of truck stops with showers for all drivers. But we still need more. Especially on the east coast.
I wonder what “rest areas” have showers now. Most of the ones I see that aren’t closed or blocked for construction only have a few toilets, urinals and sinks.
this young lass will need to be armed in many places.. truck drivers cant pack heat is ridiculous
We ALL need to be armed in many places
Gals can drive just as good as us fellas if they get the proper training and then experience. Everyone starts someplace. When I did a short stint at CRST they wanted me to be a trainer. I told them that I’d only train non-smoking women figuring that my trainee list would be short. I was surprised. I talked to a few of them before deciding to move on to another outfit and most of them seemed like they would be decent drivers.
Actually this* female driver is curtious. Unlike male drivers. They say. Women drivers are just more careful. Sorry guys..we love big trucks too.
Let me re-praise the headline for you.
Women truck drivers are more easily controlled and are more
Willing then thier male counter parts to do the garbage loads
Without standing up for themselves.
Is it woman outperform men, or is it men are fed up with the industry and all the propaganda and lies. Carriers no longer want to hire on experience, or pay a driver what they are worth. Not long ago they convinced a lot of people there was a driver shortage and stupid people bought into it. Meanwhile many people were taking up ads crying for work, people with years of experience in the industry, why because no one was hiring them, didn’t sound like a drivers shortage to me, sounds more like propaganda, trying to suck people into an industry for a lesser wage. And as far as driving goes there are as many woman on the road that are as sucky at driving as men. I’d like to know how much Werner pays their female employees compared to their male employees, because if woman can out perform men they should earn a higher salary, should they not, bet they don’t.
I have been a driver since October of 1978. It’s true! We didn’t have showers and I can’t tell you how many times I had to prove myself time and time again. It made me stronger and that’s why we are so meticulous because we are always under criticism. It is a hard life for both men and women.But its always going to be lop sided.
I started solo OTR in 2001 as a 23 year old woman. The only thing that was always was a concern was safety, especially night parking. I know it’s dangerous for all drivers, but women have additional considerations. I would like to see more regular patrolling of rest areas and truck stops to deter criminal activity. The road is it’s own world, separate from the rest of the nation. I’m drawn to that, and I’m also wary of it. I both loved and hated it. It fed my gypsy spirit, but it also fed my loneliness. It’s hard to have it both ways in trucking. It’s hard for me to find work that doesn’t require I be on the job 16 hours a day or a way from home for 2 weeks at a time. This is because I was out of the truck for a while, and they make you start over. I have kids now, and want to truck, but can’t find work. Local work is met with skepticism from the men usually running the place. One company even had a woman as the terminal manager, I thought she would at least interview me. No. It’s hard to get your foot in the door locally, even harder if you are a woman, extra hard if you are in the south. Anyone else having this issue? One road test would put any doubts to rest, but HR won’t let me get that far. They’d rather hire some one right out of CDL school? This country is really getting messed up with HR policies. So I might have to wait until my daughter graduates high school and then start over. It’s stupid.
One thing I have noticed is that U.S. Xpress has alot of female drivers.
As for training, I have heard that
C.R. England has the best school in the industry.
Drive life really means “drive your entire life” to CR England.
U.S. Xpress has alot of female drivers….
As for training, I have heard C.R. England has the best school in the industry….
Central Refrigerated too…
CTI the best for a relay gig on I-40
Drop and hook..
I’m happy to see women advance in the Trucking industry, but I strongly suggest equal and fair treatment across the board. It’s a dangerous world out here because Truckers deliver freight everywhere anytime day or night sometimes in the heart of crime riddled areas. I know female Truckers and they’ll tell you it’s no fairy tale like a romantic western novel. They know they have to be tough out here or they won’t survive. Another note worthy of notation is lack of CB radio use by some female Truckers. It’s sad and shameful, but some of us act like teenagers or date night hook-up when they hear a woman’s voice over the waves our CB radios. A CB radio is the most valuable tool any Trucker can have, but from a safety point of view it destroys their cover. Our society still views the woman as a vulnerable subject through the eyes of an evil mind and evil is far to common out here on the road. I have personally witnessed the toughest men walk scared in some bad areas. Perhaps having more female Truckers could help to allow nationwide, unquestioned concealed carry weapons? I know the laws, but they very from state to state and company to company. Say what you will, but the last thing a law abiding citizen wants is the their 2nd Amendment rights in jeopardy.
All Truckers in general need to look themselves in the mirror and ask themselves “Am I a safe driver and did gamble my life or anyone else’s to deliver my freight?” You can say women are safer than men in general, but we witness all types, including women, driving dangerously behind the wheel of any vehicle.
Some problems we’ll never fix, but some problems we can prevent from haopening. Fair treatment across the board means a female Trucker might have to deliver freight to a rough area out of fairness and respect to the male Trucker forced to the same thing to catch the next load for home time. It’s far from being a safe little perfect world out here and female Truckers need to be ready to confront the real dangers of our job that can easily put us six feet beneath the ground.
way to go girls,,,,dont worry guys there are plenty of trucks out there for you to….as for the moderen trucks equiped for wemon I personaly do not like them nor believe the truck should be automatic trannys,,,,I grew up in the Trucking and lumber Industry from the age of 10 as a Dispatcher of my own Logging fleet by the age of 13 I was married into that fleet and by the age of 16 I became a long line O/O OTR Truck Driver,,,,,till my health finally went south on me in 2007 Forsing me to sell my last rig back in Wiconsin I have owned a 3 fleets of my own since 1976 consisting of 44 rigs,,,, logging trucks, chippers,flat beds,drop decks,,over size rigs,,,dry vans, reefer vans,,,grain hoppers,,,,Miss the road and the rigs a lot but no longer can drive long line,,,,,and no local work for me arounmd these part any more,,,,should have stayed in wisconsin,,,,rather than moving back to Oregon in 2008
as I mentioned earlier Ihave been a Driver pretty much all my life and been across into 45 different states both on the west coast as well as most of it on the mid west and east coast,,,,never once have i found a need to carry a weapon of any kind,,,,even in some of the ruffest of H–Holes,,,,,it is all about how you carry your self and how you treat others around you,,,,,Drivers as well as cutomers as well as the public we all have to deal with ,,,,,,I grew up ruff and tuff and hard to bluff in the old logging woods and mining camps, then the Interstate and never once have i incountered a time when i felt the need for fource of any kind,,,,,less dealing with a dum dispatcher that is,,,,,but mostly alway did my own dispatching and booking loads and drop times,,,
I agree with you Jim,,,,in the 36 year i have spent on the intertate for up a high as 8 1/2 month at a shot never once have i had to worry about privet showers,,,,i always paid for a showers some where,,,,or took a free one in one of the drivers room facilitys where i was leased onto at the time,,,,or at home when i would slide thru for one day every month…only in 1979 at the old 76 truck stop on the corner of alemeda and olympic in los angelas calif,,,,was i guarded by this very tall colored gentelman who would walk me up stairs at 4 am to the drivers lounge and then stand gaurd while i went inside to shower,,,,but it was not because of a fear it was just something he felt would make it a bit safer for me,,,being i hauled taters up the street every week,,,,for 4 years straight out of oregon
Thanks for the mention in your coverage article. I actually wrote to this Bloomberg journalist abiut this piece because it really had a lot of strange information in it. David Parker failed to mention that the Mother & Daughter team that was employed at his company had to quit due to unsafe training practices at Covenant Transport. ( They are RWIT members so we were aware of the issues as they were happening) i recently wrote about them on our blog. They moved on to David Parkers Step Brothers company US Xpress. The Mother got a good trainer but the Daughter was subjected to a trainer intent on using the porta-potti for all numerals while the truck was in motion. This should definately be a question a student should have an agreement on in advance with their trainer. Many of the training carriers named in this article have a very bad reputation for the way they recruit and train students. Our organization tries to steer women entering trucking AWAY from carriers who have unsafe training practices which can include sexual assault. These events mostly occur at carriers where “team driving” is part of the business model and utilizes student labor which is easy to exploit. It is important for readers to understand that this article leads women into the mouth of a monster if they do not research these carriers thoroughly before signing on to one of them. Desiree Wood President REAL Women in Trucking , Inc.
I have thought about getting my CDL. I would feel more comfortable starting out with Class B or Class C first. I would feel more comfortable starting out with a dump truck, cement truck, delivery truck, etc. first. After I get experience, I could work my way up to a Class A. All you see in my part of WI, is Class A. Most of them require a clean driving record, and at least 2 years tractor-trailer experience. You don’t see any Class B or Class C jobs around here.
I know three men who didn’t start out with Class A right away. Two of them were grandfathered in. All 3 of them drove the smaller trucks, first. Then they drove a semi or school bus later on.
Some Class A companies are looking for new drivers. They will help people get their CDL. One company requires you to have no more than major or minor accidents in 3 years. I have been accident-free for 3 years. How does a person pass a DOT, in order to qualify for a CDL?
I drove for several years, and yes I’m female. You guys are correct about US Xpress. There are tons of female drivers. I was a trainer and only trained females. US Xpress was/is big about recruiting females, which is why they were the first to go with all automatic trucks.
I also drove for Prime, which also has a lot of female drivers.
It shouldn’t matter what gender a driver is. I’ve been doing this for awhile, I have worked hard to earn the respect I have and have asked for no favors based on my gender. I’m articulate, educated, well mannered and don’t play the truck bunny bullshit game. I’m a driver…nothing more, nothing less. These so called women drivers who HAVE to run team because they’re too afraid to run by themselves, won’t drive in major cities and have no clue how to do a pretrip or diagnose a problem with the truck are nothing more than glorified seat warmers…that is the kind of female drivers Werner wants to hire. I’ll stay solo and running the wheels off that SOB before I work for a shit hole like Werner or Covenant (once was enough).
I’ve had the pleasure of working with about 10 female drivers in my 20 years truckin and I must say every one of them were a pleasure to work with and performed just as well as the guys. The only aspect I don’t like about working around them is that some of the guys seem to get distracted and loose focus on the job and clog up the CB with useless small talk trying to garner attention.
I’ve noticed the few times I see female truckers they’re part of a team. (Either with hubby/bf or another woman) so if 90% of female truckers are team drivers,,, then that would outperform solos wouldn’t they?
Now about women drivers, and my personal experience when I was in the SCCA. (Also my mom taught me how to drive and she was great until only recently, high side of 70)
Only a minority of aspiring race car drivers were/are women, we wish there were more, but women just don’t seem interested. (My wife for example) BUT,,,
When we DO get women rookies out on the track, they start slower but learn a lot quicker. Men seem to be aggressive right out of the gate, we need to reign them in and get them to hit their braking zones and apexes properly. Women get the line within a few laps and have to be encouraged to push closer to the limit.
Bought my first semi truck a ’65 Emeryville in 1978, leased it as an owner/operator to a flatbed/heavyhaul company in Iowa for 10 years, then to a carrier in Illinois to pull dry vans for another 9. Loved the life on the road took advantage of routing to see 48 states and a good part of Canada. Never carried a gun LOL just a big ol knife and sometimes a flare pistol (wow) pretty much legal. reading the story I have NEVER heard of or SEEN showers male or female in a rest area?? in any state. Some OLD 2 or 3 pump truck stops had a room for men to shower and would hang a closed sign and put someone in front of the door when a gal wanted to clean up but most of those were sooo bad you were better off taking care of mother nature behind you wagon. Oh after 18 years over the road tested passed and was hired by MN. State patrol as a Commercial Vehicle inspector II. Takes an outlaw to catch one LOL but seriously I had many letters from companies and drivers who appreciated help in learning how to fill out a log book. We weren’t all Whack em n make em bleed old school.Gave lots of warnings but heaven help you if you had bad brakes or front tires cuz you were going to shell out big money in fixing & fines for that! Retired now & I miss driving most of all. God Bless our men and women who make driving a career- they ALL give a lot to keep our way of life going!
There’s a lot to be said on that opinion….will disagree on that. can’t count the numbers of times when I have been asked for there help because of lack of knowledge and experience, from backing up to just putting coolant in.
I have been in heavy haul for 15 years. Women might have broken ground in general freight. But we still have a long way to go in heavy haul. Anyone can pull a box. Come on girls get out and throw some chains!