Trucking news and briefs for Friday, Nov. 11, 2022:
The first meeting of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Women of Trucking Advisory Board (WOTAB) was held Wednesday, Nov. 9, where members discussed crime prevention for female truck drivers and the results of a new FMCSA report on driver safety.
The WOTAB is composed of 16 founding members with diverse backgrounds in the industry, and is focused on recruiting, retaining, supporting and ensuring the safety of women commercial motor vehicle drivers and strengthening the trucking industry as a whole.
Collectively, WOTAB members have more than 80 years of driving experience with trucks, motorcoaches and ports and more than 275 years in trucking and other modes of transportation. Currently, women make up just 7% of all truck drivers on the road today.
“Truck drivers are the lifeblood of American supply chains, yet at a time when America needs truck drivers more than ever and can't afford to leave any talent on the table, women are still vastly underrepresented in the industry,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who kicked off the meeting. “Everyone deserves to feel safe in the workplace, and we’re grateful to this first Women of Trucking Advisory Board for helping address safety and other industry challenges to ensure these good, vital careers are accessible to all.”
FMCSA conducted its survey, Crime Prevention for Truckers, to better understand the nature and prevalence of harassment and assaults against truckers, specifically women and minorities. The report details harassment, threats of harm, or actual physical harm perpetrated against truckers, their possessions, vehicles or cargo.
The survey found that female truck drivers are exposed to more sexual harassment at their companies or by their trainers than their male counterparts. Additionally, roughly half of the harassment incidents go unreported due to concerns that reporting the incident would not make a difference, the study found.
