Psychology 409, October 30, 2006
Hard to be a Woman
by your Lida Atkinson

Instructions for this activity are found at:
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy25/g25-oral1.htm 
Instructor: Dr. Leon James

 

Stress Factors Experienced by Female Commercial Drivers in the Transportation Industry, by Tracey M. Bernard, Linda H. Bouck, Wendy S. Young
American Society of Safety Engineers

 

 

            Women have made great strides into the male dominated American workforce since the days after WWII when “Rosie the riveter” was asked to put down her tools and go back to the kitchen. Some jobs have taken more time than others to accept women in their ranks, commercial truck driving is one of those jobs. Traditionally an occupation for men only, women have made some headway into the field by partnering with men drivers. A few have entered the field as solo drivers.

            This study was interested in identifying the stresses that affect women truck drivers   

 

  1. Initial directed interviews of female drivers
    1. addressed stress factors to which drivers are exposed

                                                              i.      physical

                                                            ii.      psychological

    1. demographics

                                                              i.      class of license

                                                            ii.      education, age

                                                          iii.      driving experience

                                                           iv.      background information - e.g., health problems

  1. Results of first interview
    1. Demographic

                                                              i.      77% between 30’s and 40’s

                                                            ii.      18.5 have children under 17, living in there home and 77.8% have no children at home

                                                          iii.      77% have a high school or greater education

    1. Commercial driving experience

                                                              i.      63% attended driving school and held a “Class A” CDL

                                                            ii.      85% had less than 10 years experience (30% had between one and two years experience)

                                                          iii.      Average time on the road was 15 out of 30 days with 92% reporting 21 or more days on the road

                                                           iv.      66% drive with male partner, 30% drive solo, 4% vary

                                                             v.      No two female partnerships reported

    1. Safety

                                                              i.      The majority of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that “Employers, supervisors and managers work together to ensure the safest possible working conditions.”

                                                            ii.      The most stressful safety environment was identified by a majority participants was truck-stop parking lots

    1. Demands of the Job vs. Control over their Job

                                                              i.      Drivers liked setting their daily  schedules but not the lack of control over delivery assignments

                                                            ii.      This inconsistent control may have resulted in a neutral response to the question of control over their work

                                                          iii.      The greatest stress results from the pressure to deliver on time, having to drive through bad weather or late at night to make a deadline

                                                           iv.      Specific job stresses include dealing with aggressive drivers, not enough rest, and backing their rigs into the loading dock

    1. Social matters

                                                              i.      81.5% rely on family and friends when it comes to family related problem, only 14.8 relied on drivers services or fleet managers

                                                            ii.      Overall response to whether their employer makes their jobs easier was neutral

                                                          iii.      Experiencing stress due to absence from family was also neutral among the drivers

    1.  Job satisfaction

                                                              i.      Participants were neutral in their responses about job satisfaction

                                                            ii.      They were also neutral abut whether they would recommend their profession to a female relatives or female friends

                                                          iii.      When ask what would be needed for them to recommend their profession, 77.8% said the image of truck driving needs to be improved and 59.3% said that improved safety at rest stops and truck-stops would improve recruiting

 

Conclusion:

The results of this study were a little surprising to me. I would have expected the female drivers to have more dissatisfaction with the stresses of aggressive drivers and traffic. The participants acknowledged that these stresses existed but they did not feel it was a high priority. I believe that the reason for this is that the drivers did not perceive aggressive drivers as a safety issue but rather a nuisance. The author believe that the reason was due to aggressive driver training receive by drivers prior to the survey. The author did not discuss what kind of aggressive driver training was received but I believe that the drivers may have been given a false since of security by the training. Because the drivers feel confident about handling aggressive driving situations they are not assigning it a high priority safety issue. I would recommend that in the follow-up interviews, more attention be given to the specifics of the driver’s training and a greater comparison of attitudes about safety verses statistical significant safety issues.

   

http://www.ladytruckdrivers.com/ CLEAN Ladies Talk Forum helping each other figure out how to deal with day to day challenges they all face as a woman truck driver in a male dominated profession, living the life of women truckers.

 

http://www.skagitbusinesspulse.com/articles/2006/11/03/female_truck_drivers/female_truck_drivers.txt  Female Truck Drivers, Skagit County Business Pulse, Three women truck drivers that feel that aggressive drivers is the biggest safety issue facing all truck drivers.

 

My Homepage: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/409af2006/atkinson/atkinson-home.htm

Class Homepage: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy25/classhome-g25.htm