Click here to read about the first licensed lady truckdriver in history.

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Safety Tips:

Put a flannel shirt or jacket on the backrest of the passenger seat. It makes
 it appear there's someone  else in the truck and  often makes
 the "bad guys" think twice.

Don't advertise that you're a solo woman driver. Don't hesitate to lie
 about it! Say your husband is in the bunk if you don't
want to tell the person asking that you're alone.

Walk with your head up, looking around NOT at the ground. Put those
 shoulders back. When you  walk into a warehouse, etc.,
 the male dock workers often stare. If you stare back,
 they usually look away. Also, "bad guys" look for people
 who look down as they walk and who  will not meet their eyes.
Walk straight and look people right in the eye.

Be careful about what you say on the CB radio.

Remember that people will form an impression of you by your every
word. If you cuss, tell dirty jokes, flirt and lead men on, you'll get
attention to be sure, but it won't be nice. You may mean nothing
 but your choice of words may say otherwise. Ask yourself,
 "Would I say that on stage, in front of hundreds
or thousands of people?" Because, in essence, a
 CB radio is a giant stage and since an impression can't
be made by a physical image, your words will be listened
 to twice as hard. And yes, it is easily possible that when you speak,
hundreds or thousands may be listening. A woman's voice on the CB radio
 is listened to especially  closely.

The safety issues described here are of particular concern for women, because
 most women are more vulnerable. This means that women
 must be very diligent about not breaking  personal safety rules
 because women are more  likely to become victims.
And as ugly as it is, there is  also the added threat of rape.

In the trucking world, women are outnumbered. It's mostly men in
 truckstops, factories and warehouses. Lumpers are  almost always male.
 Because of the physical limitations  most women have, compared
 to men, a woman  must use her brain  to keep her body safe!
If you  are a man who will have  his daughter, wife,  friend, etc.
riding with you at some point, you must do the thinking
  for them if they've not spent much time out on the road.

Rest Areas:
 A woman walking around a dark rest area is looking to become a victim.
 It's been known to happen that a "bad guy"  will hide in
 a bathroom stall  just waiting for a woman to  come in alone.
 If you do not have a team partner to walk  you in,
 a woman shouldn't walk around a rest area at night at all.
Having someone who only walks the lady in is not enough, either
 wait for her or better yet, inspect the rest room stalls and wait for her, too.

Parking Lots at Night:
This is another place a woman should avoid entirely if at all possible. Pull through
 the fuel line and go inside to take care of business.
 Make it quick, though. If a woman must  walk across a dark lot
alone, carry Mace or Pepper spray and have it ready to use.

'She Is A Truck Driver'

She's a big girl, she's a small girl.
She comes in all sizes and shapes: short, tall, skinny and fat.
Laughing and serious, happy and sad.
 She's transportation with a grin on her face,
distribution with a cocked left eyebrow.
 She's progress with diesel fumes in her hair.
She makes her living holding 10 tons of steel in her hands.
She has highways in her eyes.
She's a truck driver.

She hauls milk for the nation's babies, dresses for the nation's ladies.
  Steel for our country's defense, and bread for the nation's breakfast tables.
 She likes straight highways, slot machines that payoff,
 Friendly cops, and bonus checks.
 The road's her home. She drives today so the world can live tomorrow.
  Laughing, she's tough enough to hold her cargo against
 a hurricane, and gentle enough to stop 10 tons of wheeled steel
  to let a 12 ounce kitten cross the road.
She can tell you where to get the best piece of apple pie
on the highway, and where the radar traps are,
and which road to take to make the fastest time.
She hates, in the order named, phonies, roadhogs, tough traffic cops,
highway weigh stations, small town justices of the peace.
 Steep hills, cackling cargo, and a weak coffee.
She's America on wheels. She's big business with a road map in her pocket.
She's a truck driver.

 Without her, there would be no gasoline to run the nation's automobiles.
No steel to make the machines, no concrete to build the highways.
No merchandise to spin the wheels of trade.
She has eyes that look over mountains,
She likes to see the other side of hills.
She eats better than bankers, dresses like a Texas rancher,
is more independent than a newly elected senator.
She's an authority on politics, highway construction, baseball,
and the best way to run a trucking company.
She likes the feel of the night wind on her face
and the sound of a purring motor.
She lives by the code of the road and passes
no man by who needs a helping hand.
She's got problems, and is not bashful in airing
complaints about the state of the world at large.
Every trip she threatens to get off the road and live like other women,
but she never does. The highway is a flirting Lorelei who hums
a haunting tune for the women who chase the horizon on spinning wheels.
And when the tires sing, and the road is straight,
and the moon is bright on a ribbon of cross country highway,
she's the happiest, most useful woman in America.
She's a truck driver.
 Author unknown

The Class A Truckstop

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