Profile For Roni G.

Welcome, Roni!

I am also a short female and that was never an issue for me as far as driving goes. I drove OTR 15 years ago and I am currently looking at getting back into it. From what I hear the air ride seats are a lot more comfortable and adjustable than they used to be so I would imagine being short would be even less of an issue in the newer trucks.

I think there will be companies that will hire you with the 2 points you have. There are some that only require than you not have and serious violations like reckless driving or an accident involving a death or high dollar damage. Some are less picky than others.

Definitely do get as many pre-hire letters as you can get. I am working on this myself. From what I understand, all you need to do is apply to companies before you go to school and if you meet their requirements they will tell you they will hire you upon graduation. Get this confirmation in writing from them. I think an email from them will be good enough.

As far as sexual harassment, I have never had a problem with that from trainers. It is important to watch out for yourself out there on the road though. Definitely be mindful of your personal safely at all times. I am currently looking into this subject more, as I plan to go solo this time around. I ran teams last time so it was less of an issue then.

Ok so you've been out there awhile. I see you're out of Portland- I was raised in Silverton. I only had to drive my car in the snow once and... well it did its own thing and I had no control. Do you drive in the snow much? What about that?

Thanks:)

I love Silverton! It's such a picturesque little town. I hiked Silver Falls last summer and it was absolutely gorgeous.

We don't get much snow here in Portland. And to clarify, my experience driving a truck was 15 years ago, NOT FOR 15 years. I wish! I never did have to drive in the snow in the truck. That's something we will both have to learn. I'm guessing with the extra weight it would probably handle better than a car?

Lol I just wrote out a whole message and then lost it before I had a chance to submit it! Ugh! Anyway, I was saying that I would also worry about the Siskiyou Mtns up there and the steep downgrades. I probably said a lot more than that too but now I'm irritated with this computer and I have to go anyway... On my way to orientation for class that starts on Monday:) Well I'll chat with you again- Good luck if you decide to get back in. How long did you drive? Long haul or local? Ok ttys:) Roni

Besides, I am a petite female who doesn't look I would belong behind the wheel of a semi, but I'm sure I will surprise most, as I usually do.

Welcome Roni! I am a short female (wish I could say petite!) and I have been assured by many that my height will have no bearing on whether I can drive a truck.

Hey Roni,

I am a tall non-female so I cannot relate to your shortness OR femaleness . . . HOWEVER I am an old fart (63) and can completely relate to your apprehension . . . personally, I went with Prime, Inc. and highly recommend that route for many reasons . . . check out the information on this website about company schools and such . .

One piece of advice . . . all of us can do more than we imagine ahead of time and all the daydreams in the world will not prepare you for the reality of the situation once it unfolds . . . driving a truck is intimidating and daunting at first until it isn't, if that makes sense . . . be confident but be humble at the same time . . .you will be instructed by good people and total a**holes but each person you will meet has something of value to learn . . . be a sponge . . . also, if you would like some details about the Prime training there is a four part series I wrote under "CDL Training Diaries" . . . check it out . . .

Jopa

Hi Jopa,

I thank you for the advice! I haven't been on here for a week or more because I have been consumed with studying for my permit. Yes, that's what school is for but I couldn't wait for that- I need to make sure I really, REALLY want to do this before I get to far into it to back out. I passed all my tests and got my permit (and all of the endorsements)! So, mission accomplished. As I'm watching YouTube videos on coupling trailers to tractors (because I just couldn't figure out what it meant by the book alone), I can definitely see myself out there and I am now getting excited to start school next week. I definitely know what you mean when you say it's intimidating and daunting- until it isn't- I have been there before and I know exactly what that means. I was hoping for that because then I will be able to enjoy the enjoyable parts of the job (the driving!) at some point. I will want to be careful about getting too comfortable behind the wheel though. I drove a paratransit vehicle (its a Ford E 450) and it was definitely bigger than anything else I had ever driven and I was a little scared at first. I got pretty good at controlling that van and drove it like I did any smaller vehicle. I know a rig is a giant compared to that and I will have to really watch it as far as comfort and slacking off of the awareness goes. I'll probably just need to watch an occasional YouTube video of what a rig can do to a car to cure that tho. Wow! As far as being instructed by the good and the others, well that's just part of life and I get that already no matter what field I'm in so I'm not too worried about it. I do usually learn from even the worst jerks (they just don't get to know it if they're too much of a jerk). Either way I will definitely be a sponge. I will check out what you have on Prime. That is one of the companies that I want to check into. I know I may not get exactly what I want job-wise right off the bat, but with some experience I will. I know I have to put my time in and learn the ropes and hold my own out there. I'm perfectly ok with that.

Thanks again:)

Roni

Hello Roni and welcome to the TT family! First if your wondering about being petite and just being female, if your into YouTube check out Allie Knight as just one sample of the solo female truckers there. A quick look at her you might wonder if she can even crank down a trailers landing gear but she powers through everything with ease and a rather motivating attitude when you hear her say she did it like a boss.

She has some good instructional videos in between her daily drives videos but there's a good one about her training when she started like her first5 videos, and just recently a video about challenges women face. But if you watch someof her daily drives you'll also see she shows her walkingto her truck across a truck stop parking lot and off go the horns honking from a couple of trucks, then shell show when the the guys respect her so there will always be a few neanderthals among us but the times are changing along with our attitudes.

Your past I wouldn't worry about as it wasn't reckless 15 mph over, so just explain it well and believe in yourself the careers yours. You believe in yourself and your goals when even family do not, you took the steps to get funding and into a school and still researching and taking the steps to make sure you do become not only a trucker but a good one. Your have a great attitude and are a person of action so if you can handle frustrations well and can be patient when needed that's all you need to succeed. I'm interested to see how well it goes for you keep us informed.

Hi There and thank you! I will definitely check out Allie Knight on Youtube. I appreciate the tips. I am feeling much better about my decision and will keep my actions confident- and be the best I can be. I know there are a lot of options in this industry (and even in this area!). I'll definitely keep you posted:)

The others have given you some great advice.....trucking is not a matter of size or sex....its a matter of training, common sense, self confidence and interaction with those you come in contact with. So your only problems at this time is finding a good school, learning all you can...and that means get yourself into High Road Training Program......which will help you both in getting your cdl permit and endorsements, AND will be a great help when you get into school. So get in there and start studying...and get those applications out to ALL trucking companies you can...heres a link to help you Apply For Truck Driving Jobs...And keep coming in here when you have any problems, or questions... Woman have earned a spot in the trucking industry. It hasn't been an easy thing, and we have alot of women who came before us to thank for that "foot in the door"...Make them, and US proud, be a professional, well educated, dedicated, honest, and enjoyable truck driver to be around and deal with !!!! and...WELCOME TO TT !!!!

Yes I definitely think I am just fearing the unknown. I am going through this site and all it has to offer, time permitting, and I will look at those links as well. It is definitely the women before me that I have to thank for the foot in the door ('cause I doubt I would've started the ball rolling!).

Thank you for your help and this site and I can use all the prayers I can get from all those who are praying people...

TTYS!!

If you use your head and go by your gut feeling personal safety is a non issue out here even for females short or tall. Use basic common sense and you will be fine.

Now serial harassment is altogether a different story. Not so much the physical as it is verbal. There will be those certain guys that will always do it. And there is little to nothing that can be done about what someone says. Best to ignore it and move on. I am not saying I agree with it but it is just how it is when it's a majority male work environment. Words are just words and learn to roll with it.

Thank you. The verbal doesn't really bother me as long as the hands don't get involved. I don't think most men make comments out of maliciousness and I usually take them as compliments (to a point- unless it gets out of hand). I think I would be more concerned with being physically assaulted. I will do whatever necessary to protect myself, and I already have that covered, but I prefer to stay away from it when at all possible.

I have read many of your responses to various other posts and I will tell you that you share a lot of valuable information. I appreciate it.

Welcome, Roni!

I am also a short female and that was never an issue for me as far as driving goes. I drove OTR 15 years ago and I am currently looking at getting back into it. From what I hear the air ride seats are a lot more comfortable and adjustable than they used to be so I would imagine being short would be even less of an issue in the newer trucks.

I think there will be companies that will hire you with the 2 points you have. There are some that only require than you not have and serious violations like reckless driving or an accident involving a death or high dollar damage. Some are less picky than others.

Definitely do get as many pre-hire letters as you can get. I am working on this myself. From what I understand, all you need to do is apply to companies before you go to school and if you meet their requirements they will tell you they will hire you upon graduation. Get this confirmation in writing from them. I think an email from them will be good enough.

As far as sexual harassment, I have never had a problem with that from trainers. It is important to watch out for yourself out there on the road though. Definitely be mindful of your personal safely at all times. I am currently looking into this subject more, as I plan to go solo this time around. I ran teams last time so it was less of an issue then.

Ok so you've been out there awhile. I see you're out of Portland- I was raised in Silverton. I only had to drive my car in the snow once and... well it did its own thing and I had no control. Do you drive in the snow much? What about that?

Thanks:)

Welcome Roni! I am a short female (wish I could say petite!) and I have been assured by many that my height will have no bearing on whether I can drive a truck. If you are concern about your driving record begin applying to companies for a pre-hire letter now even though you have not started school. They will get your driving record and you will know which companies it may be an issue to. I am applying for WIA funds for training and in Ohio we are required to have 3 pre-hire letters as a part of our application. Good luck and let us know how things go!

Thank you I will start applying tomorrow! I'll let you know how it turns out:)

Just start by submitting applications to all the companies you are interested in. Most important thing to remember, always be honest. Be sure to get a copy of your DMV record so that you will know what is there and most important, when the traffic violations occurred.

The requirements sometimes change as the need for drivers increase, so until you have been turned down, there is always hope.

Not sure how much these 2 tickets will have a bearing on if you will get rejected or not. It varies from company to company.

Ernie

I will start there. Thank you!

Hi All,

I am so happy that I found this site! It's much more encouraging than other sites that I have come across! I was currently ejected from my last job (for the second time with the same company!- you'd think I would've learned the first time around!), so I decided it's time to make (another) career change. I have been thinking about driving truck for several years, but my dad didn't make it look or sound very exciting- he really doesn't want me doing it. Besides, I am a petite female who doesn't look I would belong behind the wheel of a semi, but I'm sure I will surprise most, as I usually do. Anyway, I will be starting truck school in two weeks and I am honestly very conflicted and nervous. At first I thought that my biggest concern (other than backing up) would be coming up with a clever handle! Since I was awarded a scholarship through the unemployment office for the school, I have been doing more serious research and I'm beside myself with what I am reading online. I've googled many companies and have found most have no more than 3 star ratings (not that you can really take that as gospel) but I have also googled "women truck drivers" etc. and have come across blogs that are very depressing and very scary. Talking about how the system is set up to make you fail so they can make more money off you, and that you'll deal with sexual harassment on a regular basis and that the companies will micromanage you as badly, on the road, as corporate companies do (causing too much stress on the road- dangerous). After reading some of these entries on this site, I feel a little better about it. I will look into Prime, Conway and a few others I have read about on here.

I am curious about something tho... I have 2 points on my otherwise squeaky clean driving record. One is for speeding (10mph over the posted limit, 2 years old) and the other is for unsafe lane change (which was bogus but I didn't get to go to court to dispute it, so I just paid the fine. This one was about a year ago and carries one point as well. Am I going to have a hard time getting on with a good, reputable company because of these two points?? That is a huge concern of mine.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated:)