ARCOLA — Over the years, more women can be seen behind the wheel of a semi-truck, but this form of work for women began in the early 1900s.
There is no official first female driver in Canada, but in the United States, Luella Bate, a pioneer who drove FWD trucks in 1918, was the first woman to receive her commercial licence in New York in 1920. Lillie Drennan became the first licensed female truck driver in Texas in 1929.
In the southeast corner of Saskatchewan, several female drivers, including Darlene Macpherson of Arcola, undertake both short-haul and long-haul routes. She has been a truck driver for over 20 years.
Macpherson was born and raised near Wawota and was a farm girl. She went to school in Wawota and graduated there. At that time, she decided to go to hair dressing school, but decided this was not for her. She decided to take administrative studies at Wascana Applied Arts and Technology and received her certificate for this.
Macpherson spent several years working in offices and began dating a truck driver. Her truck driver friend wanted Macpherson to go on the long hauls with him, and this is when the spark to become a truck driver came to life.
The first aspect of becoming a truck driver is a medical, and this needs to be passed with flying colours, and it was no issue for Macpherson. Next in line, she needed her learners for class one. She then passed her airbrakes exam and needed to do her driving test. This all took place in Duncan, British Columbia.
“It is a combination of driving and classroom work,” said Macpherson. “When you write for a learner, you have to pass all classes from class one to seven.” This all takes around 121 hours or a span of three to four weeks. Her driver's test made her back around the side of a building. It is a little different in Saskatchewan.
Macpherson was now a licensed truck driver and off she went with her first load to Texas. “I was excited but so scared. I was not sure I could do this, but having a co-driver at least got me out of problems,” she said.
She has driven all over Western Canada and most of the United States. Through this, she can see the countryside, which is something she loves. “I have seen where they filmed Little House on the Prairies, and I saw Shaquille O’Neal’s truck, which is huge,” said Macpherson.
She has done several trips to Los Angeles (LA), and this is a place where a truck should not be left unattended. “Once we parked in a parking lot and were told by other truckers to park at McDonald’s as they had armed security guards,” she said.
Over the years, there have been many exciting adventures. Once again in LA, the excitement grew when a high-speed police chase went flying past her truck and another time the bomb squad had gone somewhere.
Another time, hauling her load was overweight in South Dakota. “I could have been fined, but all he did was make me buy a permit,” said Macpherson. “I am sure the whole time the officer was thinking, don’t cry, don’t cry.”
Logbooks are an important aspect of driving and need to be filled in correctly. It is required when doing long hauls that every couple of hours, a rest is taken for 15 minutes. Macpherson said it used to be done on paper, but now it is done electronically. “They prefer the ones attached to the truck but will accept one on your phone,” she said. “The ones hooked into the truck will shut the truck down when you run out of hours.”
Another interesting point that Macpherson said was during the Super Bowl football game, a person either keeps driving or finds a parking spot early. When the Super Bowl is on, all the trucking shuts down, and there is no parking to be found for a semi during that time.
With 20 years under her belt, Macpherson drives for a local company and can go home most nights. She said that most guys are very respectful. “It can be a lonely job as you spend hours by yourself, and sitting for hours can be hard too,” said Macpherson.
Macpherson said trucking is a reliable job. “Not much shuts down a trucker and in the winter, roads usually close before a trucker stops,” Macpherson said. All these things are the life of a trucker.
