Drive Like A Girl

May 26, 2022 - 3 years ago

It’s A Man’s World… and Now a Lady’s, Too? Story & Photos By Ronald Mullins

The over-the-road (OTR) or long-haul trucking industry has long been glamourized by Hollywood with movies like Convoy, Duel and, for those old enough, who can forget Burt Reynolds, Sally Field and Jerry Reed in Smokey and the Bandit.

Not to be out done; the music industry has added its share of colour as well with songs like On The Road Again, Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses, Drivin’ My Life Away and the giant Alabama hit Roll On 18 Wheeler. But the reality of the industry may be somewhat different today.

Drive Like A Girl — *Photo: Gordon Kaltenhauser*

Here in Canada, the OTR trucking industry was heavily scrutinized by both the media and the public following the tragic Humbodt Bronco’s truck/bus incident in 2018, which killed 16 people and injured 13 more. Additionally, events like the now infamous Trucker’s Convoy and Ottawa Protest Park-In during this past winter may have further besmirched the industry’s reputation.

But in spite of the dichotomy of this media glamorization and subsequent demonization, the trucking industry, which is crucial-to-the-country’s economy, appears to remain strong. It is important to remember that everything we need to sustain us is transported by truck — everything! In Canada, more than 90 per cent of all consumer products and perishables are being shipped by truck. To get this done; recent Statistics Canada (2019) data shows that there are over 134,000 for-hire trucking companies, developing annual operating revenues in excess of 67 billion dollars and employing over 324,000 drivers.

There is little doubt that over the years the industry has changed. There are more companies chasing customers and loads, which some claim is facilitating a shipping rate race-to-the-bottom. The old guard of experienced, seasoned drivers are retiring and finding skilled drivers to replace them is a difficult task. Replacement vehicle costs as well as maintenance and fuel costs have all risen sharply. Delivery schedules have become much tighter; no more long coffee breaks at every truck stop and respect for others on the road has seriously declined. Although the design and safety of the equipment has dramatically improved in recent years, accident rates involving big-rigs are up.

Visible Changes

One of the more visible changes on the road, in an industry that was the domain of men — ‘road dawgs’ — is the increasing number of lady truck drivers. Although an exact number of female tractor-trailer drivers is difficult to ascertain, estimates range upwards from 3.5% in Canada to 5.8% in the U.S. Interesting numbers. But there is plenty of room for growth in this sector, as women currently make up 47% of Canada’s workforce.

What would entice a woman to study, train and earn her Class 1 license and then to spend long hours away from family and friends to take-up the challenging life of an over-the-road, tractor-trailer, truck driver? Could it be adventure, the need of a full-time job, a desire for something new…the list could go on and on. So to find some of the answers we went right to the source and spoke with a number of lady OTR, long haul, tractor-trailer truck drivers.

The Prairie Princess

Drive Like A Girl Nadya Bavasah, whose ‘road-handle’ is Prairie Princess, had laboured in a number of short term jobs, not unlike any number of young women today. While spending time in Merritt, B.C., she was looking for permanent employment. “I didn’t know I wanted to get into the trucking industry until I was in it,” stated Nadya. “I had a friend, at the time, who was working at the mines in nearby Logan Lake and I thought driving one of those big rock trucks looked kinda cool. There were no options to take my Class 1 license training and tests in Merritt, so I went to Clearwater and took a very intensive four-week course and then came back to Merritt. I was disappointed that there were no jobs driving those big rock trucks like I had hoped, but the only jobs available were driving logging trucks and that is one tough job. Not the place to start your career, at least not for me. So I went back to the Lower Mainland and took a seasonal driving job for Coca Cola.”

Now after ten years in the industry, Nadya has developed a reputation amongst her fellow drivers as being able to back a highway cab with a 53 foot trailer, where the combined unit length could be well over 75 feet long, onto almost any dock and under the most difficult of circumstances and conditions. She credits that developed skill to her first driving job, the one with Coca Cola. “It was the best job I could have had to start out. I was doing IPT (Inter-Product-Transfer) between the three Coke warehouses in Richmond, B.C., and was backing up trailers of all sizes, all day, every day. A trailer will follow you around like a puppy all day long,” Nadya said with a big grin on her face, “but following a trailer onto a dock, with only inches between two other trucks is a whole different challenge.”

“The job with Coke was great but it was seasonal and I knew that I wanted to drive full-time,” Nadya said. “So I took a job driving flat decks for a steel company, but that was not for me. Then I got offered a job with Kindersley Transport doing LTL (Less-Than-Truckload) city work in Vancouver. Boy did I learn a lot there.” Now with over 10 years of experience, Nadya has for the past five years, found a home with XTL Transport, keeping the Costco stores in Prince George, Kamloops and Kelowna stocked up.

Asked what, if any, day-to-day challenges she faces, she said, “Really, not many. Yes there are a few jerks but most people are great and willing to help. The biggest challenge for a woman is the lack of decent roadside sanitary facilities — the ones that are there are horrific!”A continuing theme amongst all the truck drivers we spoke to.

So for Nadya, the enticement was to find a permanent and rewarding steady job, which she has done.

The Finnish Difference

Drive Like A Girl Now for something quite different. Mirja Nurkkala was born and raised in Finland and immigrated to Canada eight short years ago. Asked about the process of obtaining a Class 1 license in Finland as opposed to Canada, she outlined some very dramatic differences. In Finland, once accepted into training, everyone has to attend vocational school classes for up to six months. This includes classroom work, driving on a closed circuit roadway both day and night in all weather conditions, and mastering a skid pad. Another key element of vocational school training was to go out and find a company that would offer you a non-paid, full-time, apprenticeship driving position for a minimum of four weeks. The cost of this training was about b15,000 or over $20,000 Canadian. “When I came to Canada I was appalled at how easy it was to get your Class 1 license,” Mirja remarked. Although licensing requirements are slowly changing in much of Canada, driver training and licensing in this country has never been as detailed or as stringent as in Finland. Mirja went on, “Once I got my license, I am proud of the fact that I have never been unemployed —not even for a day.”

As a young girl, Mirja had a couple of favourite movies, Convoy and Smokey and the Bandit were just two of them, and she dreamt about driving North American style trucks. She wanted to follow her dreams, so she came to Canada.

One of the major changes that Mirja had to adjust to when arriving in Canada was the variation in the hours of service (HOS), or the hours that a driver can work, as well as how drivers get paid. In most European countries, a driver can only drive for 9 hours per day or 56 hours in a week and after 4.5 hours of driving must take a 45 minute break. Also, most drivers are paid by the hour. In Canada, drivers can drive for 13 hours out of every 16 and then must take 8 consecutive hours off between shifts. The U.S. is different again, drivers can be behind the wheel for 11 hours out of every14 and then must take 10 consecutive hours off between driving shifts. In North America, most drivers are paid per mile driven. It is Mirja’s opinion that the hours of service and the way drivers are paid is a major contributor to traffic incidents involving tractor-trailer or OTR style transport trucks. “Drivers take too many risks and chance trying to make tightened schedules and a decent, livable income,” Mirja noted. The number of these road incidents have been steadily rising in recent years resulting in more injuries and fatalities to say nothing of the destruction of equipment and cargo.

Another major difference that Mirja had to overcome was the physical difference in the trucks. It is her belief that North American trucks are a number of years behind European trucks in the areas of technology and safety. But on the upside, most trucks in Europe are cab-overs (COE) which doesn’t leave much room for living, while in North America the larger truck cabs can accommodate almost everything you need for life on the road.

Mirja Nurkkala has worked for The Siemens Group out of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and is currently driving for Hawkeye Holdings Trucking Division based in Kelowna, British Columbia.

So for Mirja, the enticement was full-time, steady employment, and the opportunity to fulfill her dreams of driving a North American style truck.

The Million Mile Lady

Drive Like A Girl Margaret Clark was exposed to the trucking industry in her early teen years and at age 23 got her Class 1 license. “I really only wanted a Class 3 license,” Margaret said. “Back then it was only a few dollars more and a slightly different medical so I got my Class 1 and for the next nine years drove school buses and gravel trucks. Then in 2005 one of my girlfriends, who had been driving logging trucks, convinced me to give that a try and I did that until I moved to the Okanagan in 2010. Driving logging trucks is hard and dangerous work. But it gave me both mountain driving and chaining-up experience which nobody gets at driver training schools these days.”

When Margaret started her tractor trailer driving career with Hawkeye Holdings Trucking Division, she experienced a lot of push back and discrimination from some drivers. She was told on more than one occasion to take the truck back, park it and go home and do women’s work. Whoever said that to Margaret Clark was a very foolhardy individual indeed. Having grown up in small town B.C. and being a graduate of the school of hard knocks, this diminutive lady is feisty and can certainly handle herself. Discrimination is an indication of some of the challenges women face as they press on to be accepted as equals in a profession that even today is still male dominated.

One of the major challenges that Margaret and all OTR truck drivers face is the inexperience of many drivers, coupled with impatience of all drivers, both commercial and the general public. The industry is desperate to find drivers to fill a large number of vacancies. Drivers are being hired directly from driving school with little or no highway or mountain driving experience and are given the keys to a tractor-trailer truck. Then there is the impatience of all drivers who seem to throw courtesy and safety out the window. Speeding, passing on double solid lines and in curves are all too commonplace.

Feisty, careful and particular are three words that can be used to describe Margaret. This is particularly true when it comes to ‘her’ truck — affectionately known as Kermit — the Kelly Green, always clean, highway cab, #103 International that she has been the sole driver of since it was delivered from the dealership. This past March saw Margaret achieve the distinction of rolling over 1,000,000 accident-free miles behind the steering wheel of Kermit.

Nobody else is allowed to drive ‘her’ truck, and that includes the shop mechanics. It’s a standing joke with Hawkeye Holdings, Logistics Manager, Jordan Wilson, all staff and all other drivers that when the time comes, they will have to dig a hole large enough to bury Margaret and Kermit…together.

For Margaret, the enticement was to follow the path forged by family and friends and become a successful truck driver.

The Dream Job

After spending some time working for a local Kenworth truck dealer, Caroline Bleackley was dreaming of something a bit different and thought that the job of a long-haul truck driver sounded interesting. Of course, while working at the truck dealership she did have the opportunity to meet and ask questions of a variety of truck owners and drivers. So when opportunity presented itself this past summer, she took the plunge and registered for truck driver’s training in the Okanagan and was successful in obtaining her Class 1 license.

What she didn’t expect was for Lady Luck to appear and to get offered a job almost immediately, and within days she was driving a tractor-trailer through the hills and valleys of southern British Columbia and Alberta. But then Lady Luck appeared for the second time. Caroline was contacted by the owner of Sharon’s Transport, a small trucking firm based in Vernon B.C., with the offer to drive a brand new Kenworth, long-haul from Canada into the southern U.S. She couldn’t believe her good fortune, and her first trip south was from Savona, British Columbia to Phoenix, Arizona, via Las Vegas, Nevada. The timing was perfect for her to get tickets and attend the NHL’s All-Star Game. In the weeks following, she has taken loads to Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Nogales, Moab, San Antonio and many points in-between.

Caroline shares the same thoughts as other drivers, that the roadside facilities and rest stops in the U.S. are so much better than those in Canada. The same thoughts would apply to the U.S. truck stops; there are more of them and all are better equipped than those north of the 49th parallel.

Caroline loves driving the Kenworth W900 with standard transmission. She says, ”It makes me feel like a real trucker.” She has experienced no discrimination and is grateful for the offers of assistance when needed from other drivers, both male and female. “Driving in the U.S. is just easier,” she reports. “The hours of service are shorter, but the roads are in better condition and I’m still able to get my planned daily miles in. ”

So for Caroline, the enticement was to walk through the door that opportunity had opened and then listen to Lady Luck when she called.

The Winds of Change

The trucking industry in North America is flourishing, but problems do exist and the need for well-trained and experienced drivers, both male and female, is extremely high. It was a Man’s World in the past but now it’s a Lady’s World as well. The winds of change in the trucking industry are blowing. The sign on Margaret Clark’s Kermit, sort of says it all. It reads: Silly BoyP, Trucks Are For Girls. Roll on Eighteen Wheeler, Roll On!