by Ellen Voie, President/CEO, Women in Trucking
July, 2021
A decade ago, when I’d stand in front of trucking company executives to talk about Women In Trucking (WIT), their comments were typically dispassionate. “We don’t care if the driver is male or female,” was the usual response. “We just want good drivers.”
I would try to make them understand that women wanted different things in a carrier as well as the industry as a whole. Women often had the same challenges as men but would prioritize their significance differently.
Safety was always an issue. Women looked for a carrier that was concerned about their personal safety on the road as well as how well they maintained the tractor and trailer. We knew that women are more risk averse than men. Even the World Health Organization called “masculinity” hazardous to health due to risky driving.
It was hard at the time to quantify safety data for female commercial drivers, however, as women were said to be, “statistically insignificant” due to the low numbers for data collection. We knew that the National Association of Insurance Commissioners claimed female automobile drivers were less likely to get into accidents, more likely to wear their seatbelt and less likely to drive under the influence. We weren’t yet comfortable claiming the same for commercial drivers.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reported only 157 fatal crashes in commercial trucks in 2018 where the driver was female. Out of a total of 4,786, this meant that women were the drivers in just in 3% of truck fatal crashes while comprising 10% of all commercial drivers.
The Transportation Research Board Committee on Truck and Bus Safety (2016) cited studies showing that in 2009, the female involvement rate per 100,000 drivers was 26% lower than the male rate for property damage only crashes, but 64% lower for fatal crashes. A low relative involvement in severe crashes is especially important in CMV transport because it means reduced carrier exposure to liability from catastrophic crashes.
We knew that women were not only safer drivers but were often reported to be better with customers, took better care of their equipment and were much better in completing their paperwork.
To quantify the actual percentage of female over the road drivers, we partnered with Freightwaves to better understand the ranks of women in supply chain roles. They surveyed nearly 900 logistics related companies. The over-the-road carriers reported 10.2% of their drivers are women. Women also comprise 38% of all safety professionals, but only 4% of diesel technicians. Overall, women represent 43.5% of the work force in non-executive positions.
We then partnered with Sawgrass Logistics to conduct a best practices study to determine WHAT carriers were doing to increase their female driver population. Sadly, only 11% of carriers answered “yes” to having a separate marketing campaign geared toward women. A recent study by DriverIQ found that 35% of their carrier respondents had no programs aimed at recruiting female drivers. The remainder felt that their ads were gender neutral.
Misperceptions continue to drive recruiting, which is unfortunate, as this industry still hasn’t figured out what women want. The most common concern I hear from company officials is that women are focused on home time more than men.
They are wrong. A recent Stay Metrics study found that the top turnover predicter for men is dissatisfaction with home time. For women, it’s their equipment and its safety. When we delved into the comments, we learned that safety concerns went beyond just the equipment, There are three factors that women consider when evaluating a carrier’s safety.
First, where are you sending her? Is the loading dock in a well-lit, secure location or is it in a location that is not truly safe? Secondly, what is the company culture in regard to the driver’s level of comfort in adverse weather conditions? Is she able to make the decision to stop and wait for snow, hurricanes, flooding or even protest areas? Finally, how well maintained is the equipment? A mechanically compromised truck is not a safe vehicle and, in addition to the delays for repairs, a disabled truck on the side of the road is not a safe place to be.
In our best practices research, we learned that 83% of women enter the trucking industry at the urging of a family member or friend. This means women are well aware of the anticipated change in lifestyle. We also know that women ask a lot more questions before they make a decision, so they are better prepared for the career change.
Roadway safety has always been this industry’s top priority, yet we need to be more aware of personal safety as well. On a scale of one to ten, we found that women reported an average of 4.4 when asked if they felt unsafe (1) or very safe (10) in their job. We’ve challenged truckstops to increase lighting, surveillance cameras, and fencing. We’ve asked manufacturers for personal safety alarms in the event a driver is sleeping, and someone tries to enter their truck.
We were so excited to learn that the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) included gender when researching crash causation. They reported what we’d known all along. Women are safer commercial drivers. Men were found to be 20% more likely to be involved in a crash than women. In every category, from reckless driving to improper lane changing, women were found to be safer drivers. For example, men were 73% more likely to have a failure to obey a traffic signal conviction, and 70% more likely to have a 1-15 miles over the speed limit conviction. Additionally, men were 40% more likely than women to be convicted of any offense.
Our challenge to the motor transport industry is to stop ignoring the data and start looking at ways to make our roads safer by attracting and retaining more women. This is our mission at Women In Trucking Association. We hope it will be yours as well.
Cited References:
American Transportation Research Institute crash causation study http://truckingresearch.org/2018/07/31/atri-releases-updated-crash-predictor-model/
DriverIQ https://wt.memberclicks.net/index.php?option=com_dailyplanetblog&view=entry&year=2020&month=03&day=09&id=117:top-strategies-for-attracting-and-retaining-qualified-drivers
Freightwaves: 2019 Freightwaves & Women In Trucking Association Survey
Social Issues Research Centre: The Social Issues Research Centre
Sex differences in driving and insurance risk, August 2004
Staymetrics https://staymetrics.com
Transportation Research Board Committee on Truck & Bus Safety (ACS60). Women Commercial Drivers & Safety. Research Needs Statement available at: https://rns.trb.org/details/dproject.aspx?n=35343. 2016 (updated from 2013).
Women In Trucking Association, Inc. https://www.womenintrucking.org/
Bio:
Ellen Voie is the President/CEO and founder of the Women In Trucking Association, formed to promote the employment of women in the trucking industry, address obstacles and to celebrate the successes of its members. Voie serves on FMCSA’s Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee and formerly on the Entry Level Driver Training Advisory Committee. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Wisconsin Motor Carrier Association and is a member of the Wisconsin DOT’s Motor Carrier Advisory Committee.
Next month’s blog:
“Which of Five Factors Affect Driver Fatigue and Alertness the LEAST?” by Ron Knipling
Guest essays invited: This website invites submission of guest essays/blogs for publication in coming months. Contact Dr. Ron Knipling at rknipling@verizon.net for information on editorial guidelines and evaluation criteria.