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This driver says trucking offers a viable career option for women

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Driver Michelle Edwards is of the opinion that more women should pursue trucking as a profession.

Edwards, who calls Charleston, W.Va., home, has been a trucker for the past three years, she said during an interview in March with The Trucker at the I-40 Petro in North Little Rock, Ark.

“I started out with another major carrier, but I’ve been with Celadon for the past five months now,” she said. “I love working for Celadon. It’s a good company, whether you’re a man or woman. The pay is good and I like being my own boss and not having to deal a lot with the public.”

Overall, she said, the industry today is evolving more favorably in the direction of the distaff driver than are most other industries.

“While most other industries, and society in general, tries to limit what women can and can’t do, trucking — at least, the way I see it — is just the opposite,” said Edwards. “My experience has been that as long as I do my job the way I’m supposed to, I’m treated equally by my company and my male counterparts. A fair shot is all any of us has a right to expect.”

At the same time, Edwards candidly admits that “there are a few drivers who get a little carried away with their language on the CB from time to time, but I don’t have to listen to them. I just tune them out.”

Edwards got into trucking at the urging of her late husband, Kevin Edwards.

“He drove a dump truck and loved it,” she said. “Over a short period of time, he talked me into trying it. I did and I liked it. Kevin was an excellent teacher. He was very patient and he encouraged me to be the best I could be. I did it for a while, but then I got out of it.”

Edwards said her husband drowned a little over two years ago while fishing off the coast of Florida. “The boat he and some other guys were fishing in was hit by some waves and overturned,” she said. “Kevin couldn’t swim and he wasn’t wearing a life jacket. It was just a terrible loss.”

On her own then and faced with raising two children — Josh, now 12, and Britney, 14 — she decided to pursue long-haul driving and hasn’t looked back since.

“I do miss my kids while I’m on the road,” she said. “My sister, Becky [Montgomery] and her husband, Stephen, live in Seneca Lake, Ohio, abut 90 minutes from Charleston and they take care of Britney and Josh while I’m gone. It’s a great arrangement.

“They have a beautiful place by the lake and the kids just love it.”

Edwards admitted that she does occasionally get lonely, but “I can always call them on my cell phone.”

She said her children “like to come with me from time to time, but I’m always uncomfortable having them along. There’s just too much crazy stuff going on in the world today and, like I said, the language on the CB sometimes gets a little too rough. I’m no prude; I know that kids nowadays are exposed to a lot. But that doesn’t mean I, as a parent, have to condone it.”

Edwards said she realizes that some women may be somewhat hesitant to explore what trucking has to offer. “Of course, it’s not for everyone,” she said. “But I would advise anyone — male or female — who might be thinking about it to talk to some drivers who’ve been at it for a while. Then I would tell them to find a good commercial driver’s training school. Of the 38 students who initially enrolled in the school I went to, only eight of us graduated.

“I wish I had been a little more selective,” she added. “The school I went to was only a 14-day course. We spent just eight hours learning to back a big rig. We spent most of the time on a simulator and there’s just no way you can learn to drive by sitting in one of those things all the time. Simulators may be great for refresher courses or teaching special driving techniques, but they’re not suitable as a primary teaching tool.

“I’m thankful that I had some previous experience before I took the training,” Edwards said. “But there are a lot of good schools. You just have to be careful which one you choose. Ask a lot of questions before you decide to do it. You’ll be a lot better off in the long run.”

And speaking of “the long run,” Edwards said she likes any run that takes her through Texas.

“It goes without saying that Texas is a big state,” she said. “It offers a lot of different scenery.  I always try to take my kids a gift every time I go home and there are a lot of places to shop in Texas.” 

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