FMCSA deputy gets first ride in a truck

May 5, 2015

When Daphne Jefferson was appointed as deputy administrator at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), she had never been inside the cab of a truck. The Women In Trucking (WIT) Association arranged for her to take a two-day trip with female drivers so she could learn about their jobs as professional truck drivers.

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The ride-along began at an inspection station in Virginia where Jefferson met her first driver, Angela Jordan, a 19-year employee at U.S. Xpress Enterprises. They chatted en route to a Petro Stopping Center, where they had lunch and took a tour of the facility. The day ended with a delivery of the load of batteries to a customer in eastern Maryland.

Day two began with an introduction to April Young, who drives for J.B. Hunt’s Intermodal services. Lunch included a visit to a Pilot Travel Center in Maryland.

“My ride-along this week helps illustrate that barriers are rapidly falling for women in the field of commercial driving,” Jefferson said. “And I'm proud to see the commercial motor vehicle sector welcoming women into rewarding careers that also help strengthen our nation’s economy.”

“Our goal in providing ride-along opportunities to regulators and legislators is to help them get a firsthand look at a driver’s challenges on the road,” said WIT president/CEO Ellen Voie. “We are so pleased that Ms. Jefferson took time out of her busy schedule to spend two days riding with these highly qualified female professional drivers so she could better understand their experience on the road.”