Qualified truck drivers begin with qualified CDL candidates who are prepared for the challenge of living the life of a truck driver.

 The American Trucking Association and the Carriers they represent continually claim they are struggling to locate qualified drivers yet little accountability is aimed at truck driver training carriers who recruit at enormous levels and have grossly high turnover rates.

Retention is directly related to management and leadership. The trucking industry has failed to take initiative to zero in on how drivers are being recruited with misleading advertisements and the antiquated policies that affect retention.

In order to retain drivers, you must understand their needs. Driving jobs are not “One Size Fits All” and this is especially true for Women who have proven to be reliable and responsible qualified truck drivers.

Attracting Women into trucking is not the problem; retaining them past their training period and the lack of leadership with a clear path to success remains an issue. This is true for CDL candidates of both genders, therefore it is imperative qualified candidates are made aware that simply paying an enormous CDL training tuition that can range from $4000 – $10,000 does not guarantee that a qualified candidate will still be trucking one year later, yet they will still be obligated to repay any loans they have taken out to pay for CDL school.

The Dan Rather Investigative Report series on truck driver training included an episode called “Mind Your Loan Business” and any prospective CDL student should watch it before they make an agreement with ANY CDL school training so they are not ripped off. They should also “Google” any CDL school or training carrier they are considering on consumer complaints boards, state attorney case filings and the forum section ”The Truckers Report ~ Good and Bad Company Listings”.

Any CDL candidate, recruiter or concerned citizen should understand that CDL training is an industry within an industry just as other For-Profit schools, there may or may not be the long-term career you were sold when you agreed to the tuition loan. CDL Mills churn truck driving students out in a few weeks and many should never operate a commercial motor vehicle but because they can pay the tuition in cash or qualify for some type of federal or state work placement assistance grant they are sold “the dream”.

CDL recruiters work for commissions, some have little knowledge of trucking and are hired because they know how to “close” a loan, and they are salespeople. Rule of thumb: The more they advertise, they more concerned you should be about the credibility of that carrier or CDL school.

Prospective CDL candidates should also understand that certifications that appear as sanctioned by the major trucking organizations mean very little because often logos claiming a higher standard of training excellence are little more than collaborations with little accountability to track the ethics of the school who display them. It is simply a collaboration of cohorts to attract tuition dollars.

This is precisely why it is up to each individual who intends to survive past their first year in trucking and beyond to know these truths and become the qualified candidate that moves on in the industry to become a qualified truck driver and works for an ethical carrier who values their drivers or learn enough to become a successful insurable owner-operator.

Attending a poor CDL School does not mean you cannot emerge as a qualified driver but it may save you thousands of dollars if you check with local community colleges for programs first. A lower priced CDL Mill even offer better instructors and you might find the price is negotiable.

Good drivers can emerge from CDL schools with bad reputations and from those not affiliated with any sanctioned trucking industry organization if the CDL candidate is diligent about going the extra mile to listen, learn, ask questions and take notes. Conversely, a poor candidate who is unsafe to drive can be put behind the wheel of a big rig on our highways who graduated from a CDL school that has every logo sanctioned by the American Trucking Association and the Department of Transportation.

This is the failure of the industry and this is why you, as a serious qualified candidate must take pro-active measures to research trucking before you sign on the dotted line to pay for CDL school and allow yourself to be recruited by a carrier that does not value ethical treatment of their driver candidates.

This is especially true for Women who are entering trucking due to the added issues of lax personal safety policies which have created an added burden to an already poorly monitored training system.

Preparation before accepting employment offers from truck driver training carriers is essential for CDL candidates to ensure long-term success. Training fleets often claim they have a shortage of drivers but this is not accurate. These carriers operate on very low wage labor, therefore the only shortage they have is of qualified trainers to train the constant stream of CDL candidates who are willing to work for wages below the minimum in order to have the chance for a better paying job in the future.

Training fleets have shortage of trainers who can or will train Women.  Trucking industry Men should understand that women truckers are not represented accurately and this less than serious image hurts Women who would like to enter trucking.

It is impractical to expect mixed genders that are not properly trained in sexual misconduct policies and procedures to live and work in the highly intense situation truck driver training requires with no supervision.

Women entering trucking should not be encouraged to put their guards down as they graduate from their CDL School and begin “finishing school” training at the carriers where they are recruited.

Accommodations for Women truckers should not be to make the truck suitable for a female to operate it. This idea only serves to hurt Women who are willing and able-bodied to take on the task.

Unique needs of Women though should be mindful of personal safety within the carrier first and foremost due to the nature of the job. Women truckers work hard and are less likely to engage in “hot dog” behavior; they maintain company equipment like it is their own and with proper training in advance of what to anticipate from this new “lifestyle” in addition to learning how to operate a Commercial Motor Vehicle, Women make stable and efficient truck drivers.

Women are diverse and should not be represented by a small population who are owner-operators who may have been trained in a manner that is no longer relevant. Training fleets are where students must cut their teeth in today’s trucking; therefore mentoring programs should be matched accordingly to condition students for the environment they are to assimilate into.

Sourcing information for female student trucking candidates should be done by other female truckers or appropriately trained male trainers/mentors in the training carrier who educate the candidate on company policies as well as skills they will require to become a stable and qualified truck driver.

Men tend to believe that the mere presence of a woman represents all women, this is wrong. Women have agendas just like Men in business circles. All women are not “Motherly” nor do they all care about other Women’s needs. This can be problematic in industries where there is a large Male population. Men often do not recognize such behaviors which can create a hostile environment for Women.

Whether a woman is: Married driving Solo, married driving team, Divorced not looking to get married, Divorced/Single and looking to get married, or Lesbian/Transgender/Intersexed, it is time for the trucking industry to recognize diversity and address it in relation to the training atmosphere.

A Paper tigress’ may sell you a media image but is it realistic to retain qualified drivers?

Qualified truck drivers begin with qualified candidates, Networking Women early to other qualified drivers helps them to gain confidence while they are isolated in training and gather information to keep them safe on the road.

By helping Women entering trucking to recognize road behavior that should be documented and reported right away to the carrier protects from legal matters later and is an ethical policy all truck driver training carriers should employ.

Retaliation aimed at females who report harassment, sexual misconduct and hostile treatment remains an issue in 2012, even in post CRST Sex Harassment scandal. Unethical truck driver training carriers must be defined who continue to allow these issues to persist for CDL students.

The trucking industry may say they have a truck driver shortage crisis but what they truly need to focus on is to increase their qualified female trainer population, properly train male trainers and those expected to complete “team driving” as part of training so that they may fully understand the consequences of sexual misconduct while living and working together.

Training carriers should make an effort to create a networking process with a “Pay it Forward” training program geared for Women to encourage more females to become truck driver trainers.

CDL students must understand the current haphazard methods of truck driver training are the reason there is a qualified truck driver shortage. By understanding these preliminary obstacles in trucking you can take charge of your CDL career to become a qualified truck driver past one year and beyond.

At that time there began a growing awareness that the WIT organization was proving to make more efforts to apologize for the carrier rather than make attempts to speak to affected Women and become a true advocate. Heather has since left the trucking industry but her post still resonates.

Long gone is the era of Mrs. Walt Cleaver, waxing the kitchen floor in heels and pearls. Women have fought long and hard, confronting and, for the most part, overcoming resistance from the “good ol’ boy network”

Significant inroads into most “male dominated” industries, such as Women, in the “trucking industry”, where they long-held clerical and managerial positions in numbers proportionate to businesses of comparable size and prominence.

While not commonplace, decades ago it was not unheard of, for a woman to own a fleet of two or three trucks, leasing them out, under another company’s authority. This holds true for the vast majority of companies that make up the “trucking industry” today.  Our industry remained “male dominated” longer, by comparison to others, mostly due to a vast majority of women not being interested in becoming truck drivers.

In the past, while woman were willing and eager to work in positions that once were predominantly filled by men, they were not, for the most part, willing to take jobs that would isolate from their families and friends. It has not been until the recent developments of an infrastructure catering directly to the truck driver, the advent of more easily operable equipment and the implementation of currently available “training” opportunities, that women have taken a serious interest in becoming truck drivers.

While isolation and scarce home time remain issues facing drivers, no longer, might a driver find that the only bathing facilities available at a “truck stop” is a garden hose, out behind the garage or a deep-sink, next to a stinking mop bucket, gone are the days of manually steered, underpowered trucks with twenty forward gears requiring two or three shift levers and women no longer need be born into broad-minded “trucking families” nor rely on their fathers, brothers, uncles, boyfriends or husbands to teach them how to drive a truck.

When you think of the trucking industry, what comes to mind? Is it a vision of some Mega-corporate fleet, consisting of several thousand units?

While these corporations are considered major players in the industry today, they were not always so and are still but a very small percentage of the trucking industry as a whole.

Mega-corporate, billion dollars a year, several thousand unit fleets, is a relatively new phenomenon, having only come into being within the last few decades. Within this small slice of the “trucking industry” pie, there are three basic corporate cultural models:

1.      Entry level training to drivers of little or no experience which may offer lease/purchase programs for equipment.

2.      Trucking companies, consisting of predominantly company owned equipment, offering no entry-level training and only employing drivers with a certain level of experience. They may also offer lease/purchase programs.

3.      Trucking companies owning no equipment but they lease the services of drivers who own their own equipment: Smaller trucking companies providing load brokerage/dispatch services, operating authority, insurance and vehicle registration, taking a percentage of the gross revenue.

Before the Mega-Corporate phenomena over the last few decades, adventurous women, like those of the same spirit throughout history, have been making their presence known in the industry. These women received their training much the same way their male peers did, though they had to work harder to overcome the male chauvinistic stereotypes of “the good ol’ boy network”.

Through their determination and hard work they were able to gain the respect of most their peers.

As a result of recently development of more ergonomically comfortable equipment, more accessible training, and worsening socioeconomic pressures, women as well as men are increasing deciding to become truck drivers.

Targeted recruitment of Women by the Trucking Industry without adopting proper training to prevent Rape, Violence and Retaliation to students is purely irresponsible.

Why is it supposed by some, that we must expect change in the culture of Mega-corporate trucking companies to occur any less slowly than in any other industry, who had undergone changes, in regards to sexual harassment, decades ago?

It is ludicrous for some to suggest that “the good ol’ boy network” is anymore heavily entrenched than it is in any other industry.  Exposing flaws in a “problematic culture” and demanding redress of grievances may be considered, by some to be stirring up negativity but to those whose grievances require redress, it is called equal and just treatment.

While it is correct and necessary to push for a more gender diverse industrial corporate profile, change simply for the sake of the changing outward appearances does at best, no good and at worst, facilitates further coatings of white wash. If it is the good ol’ boy culture which needs to be changed, simply elevating into positions of “power”, women who are willing to play ball with the good ol’ boys, does nothing to address issues of abuse of basic human rights and dignity.

We would be foolish to attempt to argue that there are not naive woman who allow themselves to become involved in compromising and abusive situations. We would be as equally foolish to assume that there are not manipulative and abusive men who have found their way into positions of authority. If we are to hold naïve women to account for their indiscretions, why should it not follow that abusive predators also be held to account for their actions?

To adopt a “Boys will be boys” ,  and “Girls will be Girls”, “they are only doing what comes natural.” attitude and insist that changes be made carefully in half steps gives one the appearance of an apologist for Mega-corporations eager to cover over issues of negligence and/or malfeasance.

Being aware that problems exist in an organization, which one is attempting to recruit people into and as one who claims to be an advocate for those people, one does nothing to prepare or protect those people from abuse, one becomes complicit in the problems. Denying problems exist, casting aspersions on victims’ character and demanding their silence, makes one a part of the problem.

As seems to be the instance in almost every issue, throughout the trucking industry, when putting together a driver training curriculum, social dynamics were never taken into account, when deciding its structure.

The training carrier is one that has been written about many times before but this email was not from the female student but rather her dedicated friend who was communicating with her by cell phone while she was in training.

The Woman told me her friend was a self-confident person who was not easily rattled but she had seem such a dramatic change in her she began investigating truck driver training and found our site to contact me.

I posted briefly about the student on the Facebook ‘Like” page called “Real Women Truckers” and while 99% of the drivers were rooting for this female to stick it out on the night her trainer refused to take her to the carrier’s home terminal to test out, the 1% troll attack from a WIT member made it clear that little has changed for Women who seek sisterhood when they are mistreated at their training carrier, this particular one, a WIT sponsor.

I was proud to see those who stuck up for the female student as she was attacked by this other female with no basis or background information.

The female student is a bit older than most Women entering trucking and she felt that this information should be omitted but I disagree. If you can drive, you can drive…

Respect your elders!

When I received a follow up email yesterday written by the female student about her progress I wanted to share it because it provides valuable insight about continued poor communication for truck driver students to seek action to get off a trainers truck who behaves in an unprofessional manner and the continued need for the “Underground Help Network” we have tried to create to get these females to not quit but rather fight back and keep driving.

I want to share:

“Letter from a Recent Truck Driver Training Graduate”

 “Hi Desiree,

I hope all is well with you. I finally got home time and wanted to type a clearer picture of my training experience with my two trainers at (Training Carrier whose name starts with a “C”)

Again, thank you so much for your support during this very traumatic event for me. I don’t know what l would have done without your support and Josie’s. (Her friend who contacted me)

The first trainer I had would yell in my ear at night to go faster, faster, even though l was going 60 or 64, he wanted me to go 67 at all times, even when approaching road work. I was just getting used to driving this monster truck and was being cautious to get used to the night driving and reaction time needed while driving a truck.

He would say continually “You are not going to be a truck driver! You should go back to driving a taxi.”

This trainer told me he was going on his 3^rd month of no home time. So he was already mad and wanted to shorten his training with me. He said “If you don’t get it in 10 days then you’ll never get it.”  Even though we were told we would get 29 days to train.

He said he only trained people that caught on quick. He just wanted to get home. The whole time I was with him he was looking for another job.

He would play recordings of foul comedy that was offensive and he laughed out loud while I was trying to sleep. After 3 days of that, I asked him not to play it because it was offensive to me. He didn’t play it again, but if looks could kill, l would be dead! After I would drive my shift and l was rather proud that I drove so long and safely. He never once gave a positive comment, only criticism. If I stayed up front after my shift, it was only to be continually criticized and told I should get out of trucking. He would keep saying, “It’s not for everybody, you should go back to what you were doing before”.

I finally got tired of his negativity, yelling and not talking to me like I was an equal. I would just go back into the bunk area and close the curtains feeling very trapped and depressed while he talked to his friends and even would text them while he drove.

He actually passed a double trailer in the dark on a two lane road after having several close calls when he pulled over to pass each time, I thought we were going to get nailed! He would continually get on the CB and get into arguments with other truckers. He was extremely OCD too.

I’m pretty neat myself, but he was so extreme I thought I was going to choke on all of his cleaning products in that small cab.

He would of course expect me to sterilize the truck after I had driven. I finally told my recruiter to let me out of there. I had to go to a hotel to wait for another trainer. I would call dispatch everyday and nothing turned up for two weeks.

Finally, after sending a message and phone call to safety about my experience with the trainer and asking for another one, I got a call the next day to say they had a trainer for me.

I was to take a bus to Oklahoma City to meet him. The second trainer seemed nice enough at first and then as time went on itgot worse and worse. His Mother lived in Oklahoma City and he lived in Ohio. He would be taking a lot of home time while I would stay in a hotel or in the truck while he would visit with his family. I was driving pretty steady at 65 MPH now as I was confident that the highways were not there to hurt me, but rather were designed and marked to protect me. Even with a giant semi.

My night vision was improving the longer I drove. I was gaining confidence. He would sit in the front seat chain smoking and play these mind games with me. He would yell at me and say “why did you slow down?” I would say “because there is a police car with his lights on in front of me”, or “the speed limit is 55 now”. His answers would be “ignore the speed limits, just keep your speed, and go as fast as the other trucks”. (Who were traveling much faster and did not have a governed engine) I told him “It’s my CDL” and I wasn’t going to lose it because of him.

He got angry if I let any cars into the lane. He encouraged me to purposely cut them off.

He also would say “You’ll never make it; you’re never going to make it as a truck driver.” He would say “do you have a learning problem. I don’t think your brain works right”. He would say he had a girlfriend that was a psychiatrist and she told him about some mental tests he could give me to see if I had mental issues.

Then he would say, “Why do you dress like that? You wear grandma clothes and you should get another wallet that one is stupid.”  Most of the time he would say; “You can’t dress like that; you have to dress like a boy.” I would tell him that my dress was not his concern and he would not like it if I criticized his dress. (She writes: l meant to say his fat ass with his crack always showing! Which it was)

 He’d point out some girl that looked homeless and dirty and said

“You have to dress like that.”

While I would be driving and feeling good about myself he would sit up front light another cigarette and get on the phone with his Mother and friends while he yelled and belittled me as I was in the driver seat. He would go into his 20 minute speech of cutting down everything I did and saying how I was never going to make it, making fun of everything I did while his friends were listening.

He told me the dispatchers laughed at me and they knew he was yelling at me and they approved of it.

When my shift was over l would go in the back and close the curtain. He would say, why don’t you sit up front?  If I had, it would be just to go through his “you’re not going to make it” speech, so l would stay in the back and feel trapped and depressed.

He would keep saying he would take me to be tested over and over but he would never do it. I would get excited and tell my co-driver that I would be testing out soon. I told him l would be ready by a certain date and it would keep getting extended.

Weeks went by, I would continually call the dispatcher and he would keep assuring me that I was going to test soon but it never happened.

I had been stuck with him longer than I should have been with no positive interaction only him being in control.  He knew l had worked so hard to get to this position in my trucking career. He knew how bad I wanted to be a trucker and not give up like so many other people have done who got stuck with such bad trainers. I could feel my resistance and strength wearing off.

I am really a very strong person and have never been in an internment camp before but I could feel that I was giving up. Not a good sign.

I finally had some friends contact the safety department at the carrier who were able to get ahold of some upper management because he would listen to everything I did and I did not have any privacy. Then I got encouraging calls from you which really helped.

My dispatcher said I was going to go to the home terminal to “test out” the following day and for me to tell the trainer that they would get me a bus to southern California after that so I could start driving with my co-driver.

When my trainer got back in the truck I told him what the dispatcher said that after we dropped our load he was supposed to drop me off at our home terminal which we were close to so that I could take my test.

He yelled at me “YOU FUCKING BITCH WHORE! I’m not taking you there. I have to get home to a funeral.” I said “EXCUSE ME, WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?” He ignored me and said he would not take me to the home terminal, and called the dispatcher. He refused to let me use the Qualcomm to contact the dispatcher myself so I go to out of the truck and called him to tell him what happened. He said “tell him to drop you off at the nearest hotel in the town you’re in”. The dispatcher told me he would get me a bus after my test to take to southern California to meet my co-driver. I told the trainer but he refused to take me to a hotel. He just parked and went to sleep.

I had all my luggage packed and put it on the front seat while I got out to call a cab. When l got back to the truck my luggage was put back up on top of the bunk. I said “why did you move my luggage?” He said “because you can’t go anywhere lf you do you’ll be abandoning the truck and you’ll get fired”. I got my luggage and put it outside on the ground and told him I have verbal assurance from the weekend dispatch that I was not abandoning the truck. I told the dispatcher that I didn’t feel safe with him and needed to get off the truck. I left and when the taxi came I took off to a hotel. I paid $500.00 to fly back to southern California because a 2 ½ day bus trip was not something I was willing to endure after that. I tested out fine and arrived to California and have been driving with my co-driver since mid-January.

I am so happy now and really enjoy driving which is what it

should have been like in the first place. I have spoken to many students who have the same complaints both men and women. Something must be done about the quality of these trainers and the mind games they play on us who have spent so much money and time to fulfill this dream.

I met a group of trainers at the California terminal who were testing to be trainers and they all seemed like very nice, motivated normal people. At what point do they turn into these control freaks who like to destroy people’s lives? Most of all why are these people still allowed to train new students? Students trust these trainers to treat them with respect and encourage them.

I’m sure I have forgotten a lot of stuff as it’s been awhile. I’ve tried to block out a lot of the negativity so it won’t interfere with my present driving but again, thank you Desiree for your support and the work you are doing to help future students from going through this nightmare.”

I was really glad that this student “bucked up” and was able to see she was not alone in this horribly managed system that is truck driver training.

Oddly, I had a rash of complaints from female’s students during December 2011 and into January 2012 and the same 3 carriers that start with a “C” and use the “team business” model to use students to run cheap freight.

The barriers between students communicating to effective layers of management outside the training fleets continues and so does our underground network of drivers who are trying to help students fight back to have the job they invested in.