WHERE ARE ALL THE WOMEN??

By Julie Fricker

In ten years of driving a semi, I've had the opportunity to speak with many people. I've had the privilege of talking to those who have been out here for a long time. I have spoken to those who were just starting their careers as an over-the-road driver. I've stuck up conversations with the most interesting people and in the strangest of places.

Truck drivers are for the most part very lonely folks. I consider this an occupational hazard and it touches all of us, to one degree or another. The main reason for this, is that our days are spent in tiny cubicles on wheels. This existence is not conducive to the cultivation of strong and lasting friendships. I also have another theory as to why we are such loners. If I am off track here, forgive me for misinterpreting the situation. It may be, that like you, I have entirely too much time to think.

People often treat us as if we are uncivilized and undesirable. Since it's easier to give in the general opinion, rather than to fight against it, we simply allow people to think what they may. We tend to isolate ourselves even more because of it.

There are those among us who in time become the very thing we are accused of being. They are abusive and disrespectful. You hear them every day on the radio. They are like the roaches that come out only when the lights are off. And they give the industry a bad name. But I will not go there because I believe enough harm has been done to the industry already. My goal is to write about that which is good in the trucking industry.

For the most part folks simply do not understand us or what we do. It's as if we willingly give up that part of ourselves that seeks to herd with the others and prefer instead to walk our own path. The public does not understand our need to be alone. They do not understand our need to keep moving. They cannot relate to that part of us that yearns for the wide-open spaces, or for the solitude that would drive others crazy.

We are strong in that we need nothing of others. We do not need their company or their approval. We do not need their acceptance. Many of us can live our lives free of the entanglements others thrive on. We do not need predictability to feel comfortable or safe. We thrive on the unknown and mystery that life on the road provides us.

I believe this is why many of us gravitate toward the trucking industry. It gives us some level of comfort in that we are not like the others. We are different and that difference defines who we are.

There are many who would disagree with my litany. To them, driving a semi is a job, pure and simple. It is a means to an end and pays the bills and that is all there is to it. But not all of us out here feel this way. There are those who are born to this life and it feeds some secret place we keep hidden from the world. This job makes some people whole. It heals them of past hurts and regrets. It gives some of us a self esteem we never had, and it makes some of us strong. A sense of accomplishment comes with the job because of its demands. It reinvents us and makes us something other than what we once were.

Are some of us running from something? I believe so. Are we running from who we might have been? Perhaps. Many of us are no longer comfortable with rat race. It may be only a job to some of you but it is so much more than that to others. Driving a semi, is everything to me.

But even still, after ten years on the road, I have come to accept in myself, the weakness that longs for more intelligent conversation than the drivel, that my other personalities can provide. (Trust me, I have had some truly extensive conversations with myself) But there are times when I get tired of being in this truck by myself with nothing but the CB for companionship. Don't get me wrong, I have people to talk to. I can talk to my husband about being on the road and what I am going through out here, since like me, he also drives but sometimes, I long for conversation with other women.

There is an odd phenomenon among the female drivers out here that I simply just don't understand. Rarely will female drivers talk to one another. By that, I don't mean we go out of our way to avoid other female drivers, we just don't associate with each other the way the guys do. We don't fraternize. It's almost as if we are afraid of how the other drivers will view us and our affiliation. Perhaps we're caught up in some sort of competitive conflict. But that possibility doesn't hold water, considering how much better we are at this game than a lot of the other "guys" out here.

Do I have your attention, now? Good. Am I being a chauvinist? Yes! How can I possibly believe that a woman could be better suited for a job that is almost exclusively a male dominated industry? Because it is the truth. We are.

If you look at the statistics you will see that women, (contrary to popular opinion) make better drivers. For one, we aren't afraid to ask for help. And by that, I don't mean we take advantage of our (I can't believe I am going to use this phrase) helplessness. There isn't a woman out here who cannot handle the job on her own. Some of us aren't as experienced as the others, but by God we can do the job if we set our minds to it.

As women, we are more attentive and less likely to get distracted by passing motorists. (And you all know exactly what I mean by that!) We talk less on the CB radio and we pay attention more often to what's going on around us. Perhaps most importantly, we know our own limitations and will admit to being in over our heads. We are more careful and less likely to take chances and risks so often associated with a higher level of testosterone. My husband believes I am being a bit harsh here and if I am, I apologize.

But where in heaven's name are all the female drivers? According to one recently published report, there are over 100,000 female truck drivers. Could that be possible? And if so, where are you? And perhaps more importantly, who are you? Are you solo? Or teaming with your husband or a significant other? Are you an owner operator or a company driver?

I want to know who you are. I want to know what you are thinking. What are your hopes for this industry? I want to know what drives us to chose this industry as a proving ground for self confidence. Why do we punish ourselves this way and for what? For independence? For the freedom? For the enjoyment that comes from doing a job that most people wouldn't conceive of trying?

It is a tough and exhausting way to make a living. But on the flip side, there exists a sense of overwhelming pride and satisfaction that comes from doing this job well. At least I take a great deal of pride in my work. I know I can drive circles around some of my peers and would be lying if I said it didn't feel good. Because in truth? It feels downright fantastic.