Female Trucker

A young woman left the job of manager to become a trucker.

Irene works with her husband in a crew.

A year ago, Irene sat behind the wheel of a 45-ton truck and felt — that was her pipe dream. Now she has been working for an international company for a year. The woman convinces that she has never regretted making that choice.

Four weeks of rest at home are over, there are two months of hard work ahead. The spouses are setting off tomorrow. They do not know yet anything about the cargo or the place of delivery.The truck is not a comfortable place to stay in long, but Irene turns the cramped space into a cozy corner. She put up posters and photos, takes home bedding

"I am a manager of a restaurant and hotel business, by profession" the girl says —I worked very little as a manager. I felt that it was not my cup of tea. Then for two years I was a make-up artist ... And one day my husband, who works as a truck driver, took me with him on a trip abroad. At an empty parking lot, my husband suggested that I get behind the wheel. At first I refused, because I was afraid, because before that I had driven a regular car. And here the weight of the wagon - 45 tons, length - 16.75 m, height - 4 m, width - 2.55 m! The man persuaded me to try. And I liked it!

Subsequently, when we were traveling to the Netherlands, he offered to steer the wheel again. And when I did it, I felt something extraordinary! Fear and at the same time greatness. Felt like a queen of roads! It moved me so much, so grabbed that I said: "I want to go further! More and more!"

Soon, Irene received a driver's license category E - it allows you to manage the wagons. Subsequently, the company, where the girl wanted to work, directed her to additional training for obtaining a license to operate the trucks. This was a challenge for her, because the training was conducted in Polish, a foreign language for her.

She focused, learned everything - and being the only female was able to answer all the questions correctly.

"My husband supported me in every way," - Yes, and in the company I was very well received."

The couple works together. Work in a pair of husband and wife gives a better result. Irene runs the truck for 4.5 hours in a row, then the man sits behind the wheel. Austria was the first country to go in a new role. The woman carried a cargo there from the Netherlands.

"For a year I've been to 13 countries - Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Hungary," the girl recounts. And adds - the new job is really difficult.

"It's usually necessary to ride at night, when the routes are more free," she says. - In order not to fall asleep, I turn on the tape recorder to the full sound and mentally meditate: you are not to sleep! I often worry and think: Lord, if only nobody jumped on the road and there were no accident. "

In some countries people are very surprised when they see a female driver. They ask: "Are you really a long-haul?" And even call friends - they say, go here, look.

Most often this happens in Italy and France.

"A very funny situation was in Austria, at the refueling point," Irene recalls. - My husband went to the cafe to order us tea. There the operator asked him if I was a girl of light behavior. He laughed and explained that I was a driver, besides, his wife. " The cameraman apologized and admitted that he thought so, because she had never seen female truckers.

As for our every day conditions, every parking lot has a shower, so we wash every day, - I manage to find the time for myself : I make face masks, manicure, make-up in the way. I'm taking a hair dryer and a hair straightener with me"

"We have a kitchen cabin with a gas cylinder in the car, where we cook both soups and porridges, and salads - everything we want, By the way, when there is a possibility - I am engaged in sports. In an empty trailer, a man organized a gym! In fact, everything is possible, if you just want ".

Translated and adapted from https://expres.online