Marie’s the NAME…

… driving’s the game. And she’s in her element the second she swops her little Fiat 500 for an articulated lorry

Sport, gardening, travel and her Border Terrier Ozzy are all consuming passions for self-confessed people fan and chatterbox Marie French

She could talk about her various jobs, from looking after City of London Police horses to a spell as a dental practice manager, until the cows come home.

“I did my HGV licence when I was 21 and used to drive police horses around London to mutual aid events as a civilian groom HGV driver, but then I drifted into another area of work,” she says.

After six years in the dental sector, which ended in redundancy after the Covid pandemic, Marie returned to eightwheel tipping and got an opportunity to take one of the British Touring Car teams to an event in Scotland.

“I love cars so when they asked if I could drive some to this event with them, I jumped at the chance,” she says.

“It was on the long drive back to Kent from Scotland that it hit me how much I absolutely love driving lorries, especially artics, and I haven’t looked back since.”

Marie’s rig: 44- tonne 50ft PAYLOAD

16ft

TALL LONG

– the length of a fully formed adult blue whale

– the height of (neck and all!)

– the equivalent of seven fully grown male African elephants

So after a stint doing agency work

She applied immediately and carried Basildon site, and is now one of nine women artic drivers

Double-take

After looking after international car for a year, Marie was shocked and chat and ask them how they are and if inspire one woman to give it a try, then

• type in code DHL15 for a 15% discount on all Auto Finesse cleaning and valeting products.

Doughnuts and a smile!

Amazing

“I met Marie a year ago and she quickly proved she was as capable as her male counterparts. She handles tight manoeuvres outside our factory with ease. We’ve built an excellent rapport over the months… of course the odd box of doughnuts she brings is always welcome! Even when Marie’s had a hard day, she remains assiduous in her work and a toot of her horn announces her arrival, and her happy demeanour and big smile brighten up the day. I hope she’s on our route for a long time with anything. Marie’s an excellent representative for DHL. Her work ethic is admirable and I hope she’ll inspire other women to break into the maledominated sector of HGV driving.”

George Knox, Despatch Manager, Auto Finesse in Harlow