The Times turns its attention to trucking

A female journalist from The Times newspaper spent two hours behind the wheel of an Iveco Stralis this week (26 July, 2006) at the Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire, experiencing a taste of life as a truck driver.

Organised by Skills for Logistics, the Sector Skills Council for the freight logistics industries, Catherine Riley drove the 44 tonner around Millbrook’s high-speed bowl (albeit limited to 56mph) and across one of the demanding hill routes more commonly used by manufacturers to test their new products.

"It was a very different experience to jumping into a family hatchback or saloon, but once I’d got accustomed to the size of the vehicle it was relatively straightforward," said Catherine, who had been granted special permission by Millbrook to drive the Stralis despite only holding a regular car license.

"The introduction of power steering and automated gearboxes have made modern day trucks a lot easier to drive, and in this day and age, there is really no reason why more women shouldn’t consider truck driving a worthwhile career path to follow," she adds.

The event was set-up to encourage women to consider a career in the road transport industry, where the latest analysis by Skills for Logistics has highlighted a shortage of approximately 15,000 drivers, with female drivers accounting for just one per cent of the total number of truck drivers in the UK.

Chris Thorneycroft-Smith, Iveco UK’s Managing Director, added: "Iveco is fully behind Skills for Logistics in its campaign to attract fresh blood into the industry, particularly one aimed at recruiting a more diverse workforce. The past 12 months has seen more women obtaining their LGV licenses than ever before, but there is still a long way to go until female truck drivers become a regular sight on our roads."

Catherine was instructed throughout her driving experience by Geoff Hayes, one of Iveco’s demonstration drivers. She drove a Stralis AS440S48TX/P featuring the flagship Active Space cab – designed for long haul national and international trunking – and powered by the proven Cursor 13 engine developing up to 480 hp.

The article in The Times is expected to be published week commencing 31 July, 2006.