Spotlight on Driver Safety and Harassment Issues

WIT Publishes Whitepaper on SameGender Training Policy

Same-gender cab sharing during over-theroad training has been a primary concern of current and prospective female truck drivers. Because of this, the Women In Trucking Association (WIT) has published a new whitepaper which identifies the nature of the problem and offers potential solutions. After receiving their commercial driver’s license, aspiring professional drivers typically accompany an experienced one on their route to become more confident, safer, and capable on the road, says Ellen Voie, President and CEO: “This not only could mean working exclusively with a stranger in close quarters for long hours during the day, it also means the potential of needing to sleep in the same vehicle.” The whitepaper outlines perspectives drivers hold specifically on same-gender training and its impact on female drivers in the industry. WIT recently conducted a driver safety and harassment survey to gain an understanding from professional drivers about their perceptions and experiences involving safety and harassment in North American trucking. Given that 46 percent of drivers in the WIT study indicated that they have had an unwanted physical advance made toward them at least once and another 52 percent know of someone who had an unwanted physical advance made toward them, it is understandable why the prospect of cab sharing with a member of the opposite gender concerns many women, says Voie. Download the whitepaper at WomenInTrucking.org.