Stereotypes About Female Truck Drivers

Truck driving has long been considered a male business, requiring long hours and lots of travel. Today female truck drivers are crucial members of the truck driving industry. There are some of the stereotypes about this profession, and women who want to become truckers can be intimidated.

If you are a woman and want to become a truck driver we will help to bust these stereotypes.

1. Female Truck Drivers Are Worse At Driving Than Men – As our trucking school has experience in teaching men and women to be a truck driver we can say that it is and is not based in reality. As the data shows: on average, women truckers are safer than men, for example, they five times less likely to violate safety regulations, a half as likely to get into preventable accidents, and four times more likely to pass the CDL test on the first try. So when we speak about women as truck drivers, there is no sense to believe that they are worse than men at this job.
2. Women Can’t be Truck Drivers Because They Are Not Strong Physically – To get CDL, a future truck driver doesn’t need to hit the gym. And even more, male truck drivers can have different body types. So male and female truck drivers can be or not be strong physically. Also we should understand that truck driving industry requires different levels of physical labor and based on a number of things, such as whether the carriers expect drivers to load/unload or what type of freight a truck driver hauls.
3. It Is Difficult For Female Truck Drivers To Be Committed To Their Career – Some companies don’t want to hire female workers especially for long term, thinking that women will be less committed to this career because of their responsibilities to their marriage or children. The reason why the most women leave jobs is not because they need to care for their families, they are not satisfied with the salary. In the trucking industry there is no a pay gap between male and female. Truck driving industry provides a stable and nice salary to all drivers. And again as the data shows female truck drivers actually tend to stick with a carrier longer and be more productive on the job than male truckers do, for example, on average, women truckers drive 2,000 miles more than men do.
4. Male Truck Drivers Are Paid More than Female Truck Drivers – Though, in most careers across America, women are paid less than men, the trucking industry busts this stereotype. Maybe for somebody a truck driver can’t be only man, in reality, male and female truck drivers are paid equally. Depending on the particular carrier, a trucker’s wages are usually determined by the hours they drive, the miles they log each day and a percentage of the load pay. It will be the same wage as for male and female truck drivers.
5. Female Truck Drivers Are Often In Unsafe Situations – It is true that women are more likely to face unsafe situations on the streets or at night. But also they are more alert to potential dangers than men. Many women drivers say that, so long as they exercise certain precautions, they are able to avoid dangerous situations. Also they state that they can be cautious, make smart decisions and work confidently alongside male counterparts. Today the trucking industry tries to make women drivers feel more comfortable, for example, truck stops are well-lit at night, showers in the women’s bathrooms etc.

If you’re a woman thinking about entering the truck industry, don’t worry. Today there are more women in the truck driving industry than ever before and their numbers are growing, although they are still a minority.

Are you a woman excited about a future career in truck driving? We can help you get there. Contact us today to learn how you can get your CDL and hit the road to your dreams.