Best Advice for New Female drivers

Don't over-react.
If a fella holds a door open and says good morning, smile and say good morning back.
Sometimes a rose is just a rose.
That said, you must always be aware of your surroundings.
Not everyone's as honest as you and me.

 

Just my opinion, but I think a private school is better.
One, after school, you can choose who you want to drive for.

Two, if you go to a company school, you are locked in to that company for at least a year, paying back the school "loan".

The private school may be a bit more expensive, but in the long run, I feel having a choice of companies, right out of school, beats being stuck with a company that may not be what you want for the next year...

Judi Kay

 

We all like to rag on swift, jb, schneider, covenant etc but don't take it personally. We all had to take the crap jobs when we first started out, just a rite of passage.

 

I went to the Swift Driving Academy in Richmond, VA. Since you are from TN, you'd have to hit the one in Millington, IF it's open now that is. Anyway, despite what you might have heard about Swift's academies being driver mills, the one in Richmond was pretty decent and fair from my experience.

It was 3 weeks long. First week was all class stuff prepping you for your permit test. They did a pretty good job here. If you paid attention in class and weren't an idiot you pretty much passed the permit test no probs, but you did have to study. 2 out of the 6 that tested with me in Chambersburg, PA didn't and they both failed. Rest passed.

2nd week was range training on how to do backs. Again, the 2 instructors did a decent job first showing you how to do each back (a new one each day the first 3 days, then you would switch from station to station during the next 3 days) and helping you out when you needed it. Straight backs were first, then the 45 alley dock, then the virginia curve. Doing the straight back first allowed folks to get used to the truck while doing a relatively simple back.

3rd week was the almighty road training. Here's where you could start to really tell who was gonna be a driver and who wasn't. We had 12 people left in our class by this point (out of 25ish that started) so we had 4 people per truck. First was the shifting training which was done on a long straight back road with little traffic. Then there was a little loop with and industrial road turn-around circle at the end of it that we spent the first 2 days going back and forth on. After that it was driving all over Richmond. Trainer would take you wherever he/she felt you could handle all the way up to driving right down through downtown Richmond.

Anyway, got a little longer then I wanted to here. Total cost was $3900 for that, and you got to repeat a week if you failed it the first time. After that they sent you home and only charged you $1300 for each week you finished successfully. If you wanted to come back you would have to pay the booking fee again. And they didn't coddle you. If you weren't serious about learning, or showed no aptitude for it, they told you so. Course, if you still wanted to waste your money, they let you. What business wouldn't?

And you aren't "locked in" to a 13 month contract with Swift. I quit there after 6 months no probs, just I owed them the remainder of the $3900 I owed them (think it was like $2200 when I quit.)

Course, why i quit and what happened to their money is a different story.

Anyway, like I said, I heard the Millington Academy was worse. Not sure how much better either one is than the other, as far as company or private school. Just wanted to let ya know my experience.

 

Don't be afraid to ask questions as to how things are done, but make sure you learn how to do things for yourself, Most people are willing to help out, men like to help women, but you still should learn to do things your self, don't always rely on a man to do it. One day there won't be anyone around to help you.

Being a woman on the road, you will get nasty, stupid comments, over the years I have learned to just ignore it. If you are a woman and you are trying to back up into a parking spot, the guys automatically start with the "stupid woman can't back up" comments, just learn to ignore it because it is never going to go away. There is no point arguing with these guys, they think it is funny to get you all worked up, just let it go.

Act professional when you are on the road. I can't tell you how many times I have seen a woman who makes me embarassed to be a female and a truck driver. I have seen female truckers go into the customer dressed like prostitutes, leave the little short shorts and tiny tank tops for your off time. At least dress appropriatly when you are going into shippers/recievers. Remember, you are a representitive of the company you are hauling for, make a good impression.

Acting like the little flirt on the CB radio may be all fun and games to some women, but it is not a good idea, you are only going to give yourself a bad reputation, and you are going to draw negative attention to your self, and possibly put yourself in danger. Same goes for the female truckers that like to flash everyone.

I knew a female trucker who was almost raped once, a guy had followed her to the customer where she was going to park for the night, and he knew this because she advertised it to everyone on the CB radio. Just remember that not everyone out there is your friend. Loads do get hijacked and truckers have been killed for their loads and these guys may see a woman as an easy target. A man who lived not far from me was shot in his truck. Never, ever talk about your load to stranger. Just use common sense, it will keep you out of trouble. Also it doesn't hurt to have some kind of a weapon, even if it is just a hammer beside the seat.

It really just comes down to common sense, the same dangers out there also apply to men, it's just that women need to be extra cautious.

It can be a tough job sometimes, long hours, lack of sleep, lots of wasted time that is not paid. Dispatchers, the shippers/recievers, police, DOT, and general public all see us as second class citizens, and to them we are nothing more than a nuisance on the road. Prepare to to be pushed to the limit by dispatchers who seem to think that you are a machine. Anyway, good luck.

 

Be the machine.

 

I have been the machine, I know what it is like to run 3 days on about 4 hrs of sleep,

 

Went inside a truckstop and bellied up to the bar. Driver sits to me left.

Lefty: Glad youre here. I had to move.

Six: Something wrong?

Lefty: Her. She never shuts up.

Lady on my right is talking to a driver on her right. MouthAlmighty. The driver she was talking to gave up on conversing, turned foward and just ate his food. Didnt matter. She kept going. And going. And going.

Driver at the end of the bar: Geez!!!!!!!!! Does she ever shut up?

Six: Does she ever break for air?

Driver sitting to the right of the lady: Ummm, I gotta go.

She's steadily talking, and follows him to the register. Poor driver.

Seems like some unbalanced women feel that theyre the most interesting person alive.

 

quoted from triplesix

And you've never, Ever, EVER, had to listen to an "old-timer", recite their stories of the road? And NEVER thought that THEY had the most interesting lives/stories??
I bet YOU are one of those, who believe that YOUR story is THE most interesting story EVER.

"Unbalanced women"??? YOU, my friend, need to $%*^&^%####*()**&$%!!!!!.....ummm, never mind.

Judi Kay