LIFE CONTINUED IN TRUCKER SCHOOL

Well, life did continue in trucker school. I told the kids I was running away from home, hopped a bus for 21 hours, and tossed my stuff on a bunk. (With 7 other bunks!) Most companies have a bunk system or sharing system for housing. This is just one of the more extreme.

So I arrived and immediately felt like I was at summer camp! Not.

I arrived and immediately felt like I was in a Twilight Zone episode. Remember, I have avoidance issues. Being around other people in any shape or form has reduced me to hiding in my room for extended periods of time. There was one other woman in the room when I arrived and another showed up shortly after. The first lady was the sweetest and took pity on us.

She'd been with the company awhile and appointed herself our tour guide. The enforced close quarters did start off fledgling friendships. Without these two ladies I would have lost what I had left of my marbles.

After a couple hours of running around looking into every available nook and cranny, I found myself at the smokers' tables.

(I'm a smoker. Yes, I know it's evil incarnate. One of these days I will throw the nasty little sticks away and chew out every person who comes near me. But, not today.)

You might wonder why I'm going over the little details here and not waxing poetic about trucking. The answer is that this environment was a radical change in what I was comfortable with. I was horribly self conscious and tried to be as friendly as I could without giving my inner turmoil away.

I found myself talking to other students, new drivers, and old hats at the trucking game. Everyone had a story. Good or bad, I listened and took it all in. I did not stay silent. I did not hide.

A vastly different approach to people and situations for me. I didn't melt. They accepted me for the most part and sometimes I couldn't help but laugh at the stuff they talked about. I even found myself explaining how I had found myself there.

A word of caution is necessary here. Women are the minority in the trucking industry. I believe the last statistic I heard said 6% of all truckers are female. The statistic is slightly overstated. That includes female delivery drivers and local drivers like the UPS lady, the gal that stocks grocery shelves with bags of Doritos and the like.

These women are truck drivers. However, they are not truckers. Here's how I define a trucker...

A trucker is a person who drives a tractor and trailer around the country and doesn't see their homes or families for weeks and months at a time. This might be a week away or many weeks, even months.

A truck driver is someone who delivers goods using a large truck or truck and trailer and manages to get home every night.

Many other drivers will argue this definition. Some will say you aren't a trucker unless you can't picture yourself doing anything else. Others will say you aren't a trucker unless you've been on the road for a gazillion years.

No matter what definition you use, women don't choose this work very often. That's actually pretty sad. Women across the board are considered a better risk by the carriers (trucking companies). They have fewer accidents, better driving habits, and generally better customer relations than their male counterparts. This isn't universal. Some women are nasty and some men are professional. But, in general, this is how the male vs female drivers are perceived.

Moving on.

I survived truck driving school and went into my first truck with a trainer. Apprehensive and knowing how much I stank as a driver, I got behind the wheel and found myself immediately in a traffic jam!

Until the next time... Thanks

Renae - The Truck Driving Woman