What do you think when you see a woman driving a big rig?
We have talked with many trucking company owners over the years and the overwhelming majority say ” Women can drive a truck as well, if not better than a man” . Women are not as hard on the equipment, no hot dogging or seeing just how fast that rig can go. Currently the estimate is 5-6% of the truck drivers on the road are women. Some larger carriers are beginning to see women drivers as an asset and are actively recruiting women. Ryder Trucks in collaboration with the association Women In Trucking, redesigned truck cabs to better accommodate women. With the newer features on trucks, brute force is just not needed, so a smaller and lighter person of either sex can get the job done.
As a society we still have a long way to go to eliminate the stereotypes in the transportation industry concerning women in trucking, but it can be done.
The driver shortage is real and some estimates predict we will need 35,000 to 40,000 new drivers in 2015. Where will those driver come from? Maybe its time to give a woman an opportunity in your trucking business?
Here is an interesting read from DOT’s Fast Lane blog at dot.gov/blog/fastlane on the subject of women in trucking.