In The News

Trucking stint on NBC program makes fan out of ‘The Today Show’ host Meredith Vieira

By Dorothy Cox - The Trucker
Posted Jun 6th 2008 2:17AM

Meridith_Viera.jpgATLANTA — After “Today Show” co-host Meredith Vieira climbed up into the cab of a Peterbilt powered by Daren Baird, she gained a new admiration for the men and women who make this country’s economy go.

“It was a great education and it opened my eyes as well,” Vieira told The Trucker June 2.

Vieira’s ride-along with driver/trainer Baird was part of a series on the country’s top 10 most dangerous jobs (including trucking). It aired on May 21.

To view the segment, click here.

It made for a good show — a little positive trucking PR that’s badly needed for the industry. Vieira later remarked to co-hosts Matt Lauer and Ann Curry how enlightening her experience had been.

The show didn’t have to have a woman trucker, per se. But in the process of researching trucking, Vieira said producers came across Baird and “we liked the idea of a woman trucker because it’s not what most people who aren’t involved with it associate with trucking. Plus Daren is a fantastic character and she has so much knowledge of the industry and [so much] knowledge overall.”

“We didn’t pick her just because she was a woman but that was an added benefit for us,” Vieira explained. “It added another dimension.”

Vieira rode with Baird to pick up and deliver a load of pancakes. Like most folks outside of trucking, Vieira had never stopped to think about how food and other commodities get from farm or factory to a store or restaurant.

And sitting in on a CDL training class gave her a healthy new respect for drivers and their equipment. “I have so much more respect, now. I didn’t realize how hard trucking is on every level. Now when I see a big truck on the road I give them the space they need.”

Vieira said she thinks all four-wheel drivers [“I found out I’m one”] should have to sit in on a CDL training course “so that they would get a respect for the vehicles and their drivers.”

Vieira had nothing but admiration for what Baird does, but noted trucking is a “hard” career for a woman. “You have to be pretty tough and there’s a certain amount of isolation; you’re alone for hours and hours,” she said, adding, “I couldn’t do it.”

She didn’t do too badly for a novice, however. She learned to open up the hood of a truck (with a little help), went through a pre-trip inspection with an instructor, helped Baird do a drop-and-hook, helped attach the air lines, helped fuel up and later drove a few miles by herself on a back road after authorities had blocked off the entire stretch.

Did women see the show and think trucking was something they could do?

“I hope so,” said Baird. “Every time women see me in a truck I can tell they think, ‘wow’; they give me a big thumbs up and a big grin. It opens up their eyes.”

And the company that back in the early seventies didn’t want her to drive because she was a woman? “They’re giving bonuses, now, for husband-and-wife teams,” Baird noted.

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