Due to the shortage of truck drivers, the Louisiana Motor Transport Association is encouraging more women to join the workforce with the initiative “Women in Motion.” Executive Director of LMTA Renee Amar said while women make up 50 percent of the workforce…
“Yet as far as truck drivers are concerned, they only make up 7% to 10% of the truck drivers. So obviously we could vastly close that gap if we could get women much more interested in driving,” said Amar.
And while women are often blamed for being poor drivers, Amar said the opposite is true.
“And what we found out is that when they become truck drivers, just because of the nature of our personalities, we’re real detail oriented, very focused on safety, it that they are incredible driver,” said Amar.
Amar said however there are legitimate safety concerns for female drivers. She said the U-S Department of Transportation is trying to address dedicated areas for truck parking. Amar said because truckers are limited by the number of hours, looking for a safe area to pull off the road is problematic.
“It cuts into the amount of time that they can drive and earn money, but also it becomes a huge safety issue for them,” said Amar.
Depending on what is being hauled and how far it is driven, Amar said truck drivers can make anywhere from $40,0000 to $120,000 annually.
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