Working as a truck driver is a lifestyle for more than 3.5 million Americans. But some CDL holders leverage their job hauling the country’s goods and materials into fame and fortune. Trudy Jacobson, sometimes called “Lady Trucker,” rewrote the book while working in an almost entirely male-oriented occupation. Now considered something of a wealthy socialite, she’s literally writing a book. Her forthcoming novel — “Diesel Smoke and Dangerous Curves” — should make for interesting reading.
“Trucking is a totally wild environment. There’s a camaraderie of people of the night and who have wanderlust,” Trudy reportedly said. “You can be anyone you want.”
Her mercurial career in the trucking trades began when she took a job at a dealership in Missouri. That’s where she met her future husband, Johnny, who had recently started a trucking company. Initially, Trudy took on purely administrative responsibilities. But some people are just drawn to those big rigs, and it wasn’t long before she earned her CDL and started hauling loads for the family business. Transported meat from state to state during the 1980s prepared her for what came next in her life.
“Life as a trucker is difficult enough for men. It includes navigating big rigs in all kinds of weather, irregular sleep hours, cleaning up in truck stops without restrooms for women, breakdowns, and robberies,” a press release about her book launch reportedly states. “For a woman out on the road, factor-in bias against female drivers, skepticism about capabilities, and harassment, from insults to catcalling to come-ons.”
Those experiences are less common today because trailblazers such as Lady Trucker and many others have broken gender barriers. The number of CDL holders in the workforce hovers around 10-12 percent today. That figure surged in recent years, up from a mere 5 percent during the early 2000s. When Trudy was driving reefers across Kansas in the 1980s, she did what many perceived as a “Men-Only’ job.
Some women experiencing less-than-ethical behavior from their male counterparts may have become jaded. But Trudy had the grit and determination to keep her composure and positive outlook. As the family business took off, she put her sharp-witted trucker toughness to work in the boardroom. She pivoted away from operating 18-wheelers to become co-founder, co-owner, and chair of the board of Jacobson Holdings Inc., with her husband.
The couple reportedly established a headquarters in Olathe, Kansas, with facilities in Texas and Florida. TransAm Trucking remains a centerpiece of the business. The freight hauling operation has reportedly grown from 70 tractors and 100 trailers when founded in 1987 to 1,000 tractors and 1,900 trailers. Now part of the white-collar end of the trucking industry, she focuses on logistics, equipment leasing, and financial services.
Trudy’s upcoming book, “Diesel Smoke and Dangerous Curves,” is expected to be a work of fiction. But sometimes the truth is more remarkable.
Sources: prnenewswire.com, digitaljournal.com, nypost.com
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