WIT - why the scare tactic ?

moose

Veteran Expediter
In the Aug. 15-31 mag of 'the trucker', (you can Pick it up at a truck stop of your choice now) WIT co-writer had a piece about Woman's safety titled :
"Women(& Man) drivers say it's less safe out there on the road".
it is clear that this piece was wrightn after the Expediters expo. & as a direct result of it .many of the issues that where disused at the WIT workshop are being mentions.
the whole point of that workshop was to ask current woman drivers what can be done to better their life on the road, and how drivers safety can be improved - which was a good point, since a TA/Petro representative was in the room taking notes.
HOWEVER, after attending that workshop, i can't seams to understand why the heck WIT lets this writer be it's voice.

if a perspective drivers wannabe reads that piece - there's no chance in hell they'll even take a 2nd look at trucking as a valid profession !,
if an experienced trucker is considering taking his wife on the road with him, after reading this, there's no way in hell he'll let her into the truck.

more so, in one of the 2 photo's, there's a FXCC truck in clear view behind the 'experienced' women driver, suggesting that she drives it for a living. - what a bad image to our industry.

"..."No it's not safe on the roadway" said Shirley Gray, hoe has been a truck driver for 32 years..."

WIT will be better off finding a more respectful writers to represent us, don'tch yah think ?
 
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TeamCaffee

Administrator
Staff member
Owner/Operator
That is to bad.... I was hoping the article was available in digital form but not yet. I hope that many of the people attending that workshop or who do not feel like victims will submit a letter refuting the statements.

Thanks Moose for posting this
 

moose

Veteran Expediter
i wanted to do just that, but did not wanted her to have my personal Email address.
to comment one can send an Email to:

[email protected]

in all fairness, it might be the best if 'someone' ( :D ), can direct her back to here so she can tell us all how bad things are, or why she think she deserve to keep her job.
 

TeamCaffee

Administrator
Staff member
Owner/Operator
Moose article was better then expected...

Voie said she believes it's getting safer for women on the road "as more of the male population become sensitive to issues women face on the road".

Men are stepping up where a women might need a safe "neighbor" in the parking lot or on the loading dock.

Both men and women think it is not as safe as it used to be... Which I believe is true from the stories about drivers sleeping with their windows or even doors open trying to stay cool.

One of the interesting items that was discussed during the workshop was that women are more aware of their surroundings and will walk in the lighted areas to get inside where men will cut through. In the workshop non of the women had any problems while a few of the men discussed how they has been threatened!

Now that I have seen the article I see it as one of the more positive articles where women are not being portrayed as victims. There were a few quotes in the article that I think could have been stated differently but...

I hope others will chime in on their opinions after they read the article and will give Dorothy their feedback.
 

BillChaffey

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
US Navy
How about Scary women in trucking? The other day I was at the Truck Stop at the intersection of #14 & #63 in West Plains, MO. Two women came in. One was maybe 5'6" I believe she would have been classified as obese.
Tattoos that showed, on her arms, legs, back of her hands. Cut off sweat pants and a sleeveless sweat shirt. The other one was tattoo free and a little smaller. They passed through and hopped into a Swift Trucking rig.
 

skyraider

Veteran Expediter
US Navy
How about Scary women in trucking? The other day I was at the Truck Stop at the intersection of #14 & #63 in West Plains, MO. Two women came in. One was maybe 5'6" I believe she would have been classified as obese.
Tattoos that showed, on her arms, legs, back of her hands. Cut off sweat pants and a sleeveless sweat shirt. The other one was tattoo free and a little smaller. They passed through and hopped into a Swift Trucking rig.

Mercy, another great first impression for the motoring public. She may have been an x biker gang babe who now had to find a job, IMHO>:eek:
 

JimF51

Seasoned Expediter
From what I've seen over the years, the woman Bill describes is more the exception, that the rule, with regards to women drivers. Most are usually neat and presntable.

Unfortunately, his description is more applicable to a lot of male drivers. I'm showing my age, but to apply the title Professional Driver to some some guy climbing out of his truck on pajama pants or ugly baggy shorts, dirty T shirt, and flip flops, already gives a skewed picture of truck drivers to the public.
 

JimF51

Seasoned Expediter
Professionalism goes both ways and it is not just in a drivers appearance.

I do realize that, but to John Q Public, that appearance is what will stand out, not how well he drives, how well he interacts with customers, etc..
 

TeamCaffee

Administrator
Staff member
Owner/Operator
I do realize that, but to John Q Public, that appearance is what will stand out, not how well he drives, how well he interacts with customers, etc..

I agree with you and when driving down the road and I look over into another truck and not only do I see a sloppy driver I see a dash 6" high in trash with chip bags mixed in I think to myself "No wonder we are not treated like professionals".

When you see inside a truck door floor window and all you can see is trash.
 

BillChaffey

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
US Navy
I certainly meant no offence to women or men drivers. Just playing with the "Scare Tactic" to me she would have been "scary" if I turned a corner and she was standing there.

I don't know if it's a majority, BUT there are a ton of outright slobs climbing in and out of rigs at your average truck stop.
 

greg334

Veteran Expediter
So I guess with the two gender related threads going on (the other is in the soapbox), what is the real message here?

Are we supposed to treat women truck drivers as vulnerable and unable to take care of themselves or are we supposed to treat them as fellow professionals who are our equals?

You know I may be old fashioned and my comments can be construed as sexest which they are not but if I am supposed to act a specific way and treat people who are the opposite gender with more respect/concern/be more courteous than towards people of my own gender, why are they here in a dirty, dangerous profession in the first place?
 

TeamCaffee

Administrator
Staff member
Owner/Operator
Bill I think you brought up a good point as we are all professional drivers and we wanted to be treated as professionals.

In my way of thinking if we need to look and act the way we want to be treated...
 

TeamCaffee

Administrator
Staff member
Owner/Operator
Greg one of the things I tell everyone about trucking is how men treat ladies. When going into a truck stop it makes my day when a guy will jog to get the door for me and say good morning.

I also know that when driving we men and women are both professionals and the steering wheel does not know gender... the dock does not know gender... and I do not believe trucking companies dealing with drivers care about gender or age... Get the job done and do it as a professional.
 

greg334

Veteran Expediter
Greg one of the things I tell everyone about trucking is how men treat ladies.

But see here is the confusing part to many, when 'ladies' want to be treated as part of the profession and considered equals, they should lose the idea of being treaded as ladies.

Maybe that makes my comments more sexiest but it isn't about removing common courteous out of the picture or augmenting them based on gender, but rather having to see equal treatment for all regardless who they are.
 

TeamCaffee

Administrator
Staff member
Owner/Operator
Greg all I can say is it much easier to be a women then it is to be a man from what I can have seen.

I could go on about this all day but I will stop as it is frustrating trying to figure out what women want and how bad some are at expressing this.
 
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