MORE WOMEN IN TRUCKING?

I was reading an article this morning where the question was asked, "Why aren't there more women in trucking?"

The answer is, of course, multifaceted and complex.

1. Money

2. Safety

3. Family

I've discussed money before, and I'm always interested in the miles I'm driving. The reason for that is pretty simple. Life revolves around money. You have it...bills paid. You don't have it...someone else pays your bills. I've been on both sides of this issue, having and not having. I prefer being the one who gets to decide for myself what, where, and how much I can do and have.

In the someone else pays your bills category, if you don't feel like a subhuman leech, then get off the planet. There's no hope for you. If you aren't making yourself feel crappy because you can't feed and house yourself and your kids without help, don't worry. There are millions of Americans and international citizens alike who are there to tell you what you can have and not have and how subhuman you are, even when you're doing everything you can.

The amount of money available in the industry is mind-boggling. It does not trickle down to the driving portion of the industry. Men still get a higher income on average than women. The yearly income is barely above "poverty" levels. For the work, stress, and hazards that come with driving, it's just not enough to keep any butt in the seat, male or female. Any driver who lasts longer than a few years on the road will not say they do it because of the money. It might keep the family fed and off the streets, but money? Nope. They're out there on that road because they either don't know anything else or they love it. (When I say love, I do mean love-hate.)

On to safety.

Any society has conflicts between male and female. Hell, sometimes even male and male and female and female. It doesn't really make a difference. An assault is an assault. A rape is a rape. An attack is an attack.

The difference in trucking is that when you start out, you are placed in a vulnerable position with a stranger. You are in a position where you have to decide whether your safety or your goal of being a truck driver is more important. Every day, you have to consciously choose whether to trust someone you don't know and can't easily get away from or leave the truck and your goal.

Many, many, many women have reported verbal, physical, and psychological abuses during their training. Unfortunately, these abuses are not limited to women. Men get abused and coerced too, they just don't report it unless it's something macho, like, "Bastard punched me and then threw me out the window!"

Women though, we're trained from a young age to please people, to be liked, to be fragile. A woman coming into the industry might have the goal to be a truck driver, but societal indoctrination plays a big role in whether they allow themselves to be a victim to the countless predators.

Every trip to the bathroom is an exercise in self-control and self-respect for me. I have to tell myself not to notice if someone is looking or talking. My head is up, my stride is strong, and I can say, "Hi, how are you?" and keep walking. My nature is to stop and really listen to the answer, but it isn't safe. I don't know if the guy in the black truck next to me at the fuel island is a wife beater. I don't know if he's a stalker. I don't know if he's got a teddybear collection, collects panties, or if he wears them. I DON'T KNOW. And I try really hard not to let my knowledge of possibilities and statistics run my imagination into the nightmare zone.

Most women grow up knowing they are targets. They know, from first-hand experiences, what it feels like to be a victim. At some point in their lives, someone they trusted or a stranger has caused them harm.

Now, take a truck driver's lifestyle. You've gone through training unscathed. Now, you're alone in a truck, surrounded by strangers every night. There is no real privacy. The drivers sit in their trucks watching you walk the dog, go into the truckstop to get what you need, then they watch you walk back to your truck. They know, where you're parked, if you're alone, and if they wanted to they could come to your truck and find a way in.

"Hey, my phone's not working. Can I borrow yours?"

"Do you have any (fill in the blank)?"

"Can you help me with something?"

I don't even fully trust the guys in my own company. I might sit in my truck and talk to them as they stand outside, but I don't get in other people's trucks. I also try really hard to avoid walking near a truck where I see someone sitting in the seat just watching outside.

Unless you're a moron, trucking life is dangerous, and you know it. Most women just don't want to risk themselves in that situation without a partner or husband to back them up. They're smart. But, like me, many women drivers don't have a husband or partner, and accepted the risks. Anyone with an ounce of self-preservation doesn't attack a trucker in his truck. They'll get stabbed, shot, set on fire, beaten with flashlights and crowbars, eaten by dogs, or all of the above and then run over multiple times.

If you aren't willing and able to protect yourself, don't become a truck driver. Period. If you become a truck driver and don't have that self-preservation instinct, you're a victim waiting to happen. Society says don't blame the victim, but I'm calling double standard on that one. If you know you're a victim waiting to happen and still want to drive, then change your attitude so you can defend yourself. Being proactive about defensive strategy is just smart.

Last on my short list of why women don't get into trucking is family.

We are a society at odds within our own homes. Divorce, single-parent households, single-income households...you all know the lists. But, think about this for a minute.

Dad went out and learned to drive a truck to take care of his family. He's got a wife, couple of kids, dogs, cats, mortgage, car payments...

He's never at family dinner, school events, athletic games, doctor visits, car repairs, bill collection calls...

Okay, so what about the woman? Well, she left the kids with her parents and became a truck driver. Why? Hubby/Baby-Daddy left her with the kids and didn't pay child support. No? That doesn't work? It doesn't for me either. That's why I waited to start school after my kids were grown.

Any woman in a relationship with a man who is not on the truck with her is in for a world of emotional upheaval. Expectations and delivering on those expectations when you have a job to do that doesn't allow for distractions. Distractions get people killed out here. If you can't keep your significant others from guilting you and making you feel like crap because you're out doing your job, it's time to reevaluate.

I'd say the same thing to a man. Everyone involved needs to be on the same page. If my page and your page don't match, we need to reevaluate.

Driving is in my blood. I love what I do. Do I wish some things were different? Yes. Absolutely. This is my life. I'm going to live it.

Thanks for being here,

Renae-The Truck Driving Woman