Owner/Driver #339

“It’s funny, because it wasn’t until I got my licence and
became a driver that I started to meet so many women
who actually do have that fear of driving. I thought I was
alone in that, so I think a program like what Heather is
doing would be incredible for them,” Lockyer continues.
“I think a lot women would be intimidated and
probably wouldn’t even consider doing it if it was a
male-driven course because when you’re with other
women you feel more comfortable and ready to do it
and Heather is amazing, she just has this way of making
you feel calm and in control and empowered.
“I grew up in a country town and when I was young
my dad was a truck driver, so I had been in trucks
before when I was little but I was scared of them. I
never thought I’d drive a truck and in the future, I have
considered maybe I will go and get my truck licence; it’s
pretty cool,” Lockyer says.
“I was in a domestic violence relationship for
over 10 years and I wasn’t allowed to drive.”
wasn’t allowed to drive, so I was terrified of driving and
didn’t get my licence for years.
“When I finally went on my first driving lesson I broke
down and cried the whole time. It was such a huge thing
to get my licence and drive a car, so to think that I was
now sitting in the seat of a truck and driving a truck
made me feel on top of the world,” Lockyer says.
“I just had this fear that it would be so scary and I
wouldn’t be able to see anything but I was surprised
about the visibility. It was a bit to get used to not having
a rear view mirror and just using the side mirrors but
it was great. Just by being up there I felt this new found
kind of freedom and feeling of control, which I loved.”
Life changing experience
Jones said that the results her boot camp program has
produced have been much more than just learning
heavy-duty driving skills, for both herself and her
students.
“When we started training I just wanted safe drivers
on the highway, I never ever thought we’d be able
to change people’s lives in such a powerful way.
There’s been so many amazing roll on effects for our
participants,” Jones says.
“One story is we had a domestic violence survivor
come through our boot camp and she was so good we
put her on our trucks for a couple of months and she
has now gone on to pulling quads interstate.
“Trucks are so big and it’s very empowering for these
women and being able to achieve something that not
even a lot of men can do is hugely satisfying. Even
the view from up in the cabin gives you a feeling of
achievement.”
The feeling of independence that driving brings and
the freedom of movement it offers is something those
who have been driving since attaining legal driving
age often take for granted, but the benefits surely have
massive psychological benefits also.
Empowering women
Heather Jones said she’d like to continue to participate
in events like IWD by taking her trucks out into the
community to give women the opportunity to see what
a careers as a driver might be like.
“We’d like to do more of these events which empower
women but we need funding. Our transport business
pays for our outreach initiatives and its expensive
travelling across the state and not being able to service
our customers when we go to these events,” Jones says.
“Volvo Group are one of our main supporters and we
have been able to do amazing things with their trucks
to promote truck driving as professional and achievable
for people who haven’t been in the industry through
training.
“And with the automatic trucks we train in you can
pretty much get the majority of people in those trucks
and they are safe professional drivers. Without having to
change gears they can concentrate on the road and the
load and all the traffic around them.”
According to the Australian Trucking Association
only three per cent of truck drivers in Australia are
female with industry-wide representation at only 26
per cent, with most women in the industry working
in administrative roles. However, while initiatives like
Heather Jones’ boot camp can provide a stepping stone
for women, more needs to be done to redress this gender
imbalance.
36 APRIL 2021 ownerdriver.com.au