More Women Becoming Truck Drivers In The US
For Carrie Walters and Linda Reynolds, becoming a truck driver was the fulfillment of a childhood dream. "Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to drive a truck," said Reynolds, 46, who has been a trucker for five years, as she and Walters, 32, show off "Betsy," the 18-wheeler they drive on long-haul routes for Con-Way Inc. The two women spend three weeks on the road at a time in their truck, then three weeks off. Unlike single drivers, teams can drive 24/7 and earn more money. Many long haul drivers can spend months on the road at a time. "Not many people can handle long periods on the road," said Walters, of San Antonio, Texas, a trucker for 18 months. "I can, especially as I make more money than I could back home." American women have been driving trucks since the late 1920s. In World War 2, thousands of women took to trucking as men were called up to fight. The number of women in the industry fell sharply after those men returned from...