Rhonda Hartman's journey in the trucking industry began 38 years ago as an owner-operator for her family farm in Iowa, where she hauled grain to Arkansas. From what Hartman could see, there were very few women on the road.
“While there are still more men than women on the roads, things have improved a lot for those women,” Hartman said. “When I started, once you reached east of the Mississippi River, there were no showers only for women. You had to wait and use the men’s shower with just a sign on the men’s bathroom door saying, ‘Woman inside taking shower,’ which wouldn't matter if they still needed to use the facilities.”
As Hartman expanded her travels as an owner-operator for 10 years, she transported product across the continental U.S., experiencing sights and attractions that she otherwise might not have seen had she not been a truck driver.
“If I was somewhere, even stuck for a day or two, I would drop my trailer and would just go to the museums, or if I was on the coasts, I’d go to the beach,” Hartman explained. “I'd even go find a gym to stay healthy. I always got out and did other things to experience the culture of the area I was in.”
As Hartman’s family got older, she realized a life on the road was no longer sustainable. It was then that she became a company driver for Walmart Transportation for the next 10 years, a job where she could be home with her family every weekend instead of a couple times a month.
“I ran regional then,” Hartman explained. “I was only one state beyond Iowa most of the time, and that worked out so much better for me. As my kids became teenagers, I needed to be home even more, so I transitioned to part-time on the road. The rest of the time, I drove the school bus for our local school, driving to sporting events and such, so I could experience my kid’s lives and bug the heck out of them.”
Family has played a significant role in Hartman’s life. Her husband, who was also a driver for Walmart, was always supportive of their careers, working as a team not only at home, but on the road as well.
“As Walmart was expanding to Alaska and Hawaii, the company needed team drivers to help transport goods to the Alaskan store,” Hartman explained. “My husband and I always drove separately, never as a team. But we partnered for a special trip from Walmart’s Colorado-based warehouse to Washington, from where the product would ship to Alaska. Those two weeks were a really special time for the two of us, spending time together and doing what we love to do.”
In 2008, Hartman’s husband was diagnosed with cancer, and he passed away in 2009. But Hartman continued her career in the trucking industry. She joined Iowa’s Road Team and later America’s Road Team, where he was still impacting her life.
“In tragedy, there are life altering situations that you experience—there are not a lot of them in your lifetime—but they are life altering ones that totally change the course of your life,” Hartman explained. “So, when I went to Washington D.C. for the selection of America’s Road Team, the selection committee had me choose a number between one and 13. I chose 13, my lucky number as well as my wedding anniversary. The number I chose dictated which question I would be asked in the mock interview as part of the selection process. The question was, ‘Who was the single most influential person in your life in getting you to the point where you are now?’ My answer was easy: my husband.
“My husband always put me on a pedestal,” Hartman explained. “He always told me that I could do anything I wanted to do. He’s made me brave, to the point where I didn’t know if I would ever be as brave as I am now. I’m not afraid anymore, and that was because of him.”
To Hartman, her husband’s passing has made her fiercely independent—a necessary quality for a truck driver—and has given her the strength to fight for the industry that has been a part of her life for nearly 40 years.
“The honor of being a part of America’s Road Team has given me the platform to make the industry safer for everyone,” Hartman said. “I don’t just represent women drivers; I represent all drivers. So, for me, becoming a part of America’s Road Team has opened doors to make a difference not only on a national level, but also in the cab.”
As a driver as well as driver trainer now for Old Dominion Freight Lines, Hartman—who has 2.8 million safe driving miles on her resume—takes the time to teach those who are just starting out in the industry.
“When I first started out on the road as an owner-operator, I had a network of people who looked out for me, and helped me even without me asking for it,” Hartman said. “One man—who I didn’t even know his full name—would partner with me on the road, me in front of him or him in front of me, and when I mentioned to him that I would have to take a different route because I didn’t have enough cash for the tolls on the road we were taking, he paid for my toll. When we pulled over at the next rest stop, I asked for his information to pay him back, and he gave me a piece of paper. It wasn’t until we had parted ways that I finally read the paper, which read: Pay it forward. I’ve tried to live every day, teaching my students those same lessons.”
When it comes to the future of trucking, Hartman appreciates the lengths taken to protect those on the road.
“When I talk to people about where the trucking industry is headed, I think about some of the technological advancements that have been made for drivers on the road, especially women drivers,” Hartman explained. “For instance, GPS systems in the cab are groundbreaking, because if you break down in a no-service area, your location is still traceable. Forward-facing cameras will totally save you in an accident situation when you've done everything right and somebody else has done something wrong. No matter what anyone says, the camera doesn't lie. That kind of technology is really good for the industry, and it does make it safer for women to drive.”
Despite all the technological advancements made in the industry, Hartman happily keeps it old school when it comes to her cab.
“Old Dominion has all manual transmissions. I do not drive an automatic,” Hartman explained. “I drive an older truck—it's got almost a million miles on it— and I was raised on a manual, where you understand the control that you have over the vehicle, especially in all weather conditions. In an automatic, you’re giving up that control, you’re letting that truck decide when it’s time to shift and when it’s not.
“While automatics are easier to drive, I like to tell everyone that they’ll make you lazy,” Hartman added. “The more things you don’t have to pay attention to, the lazier you get about paying attention.”
As a driver trainer, Hartman focuses on teaching the up and coming drivers everything they need to know to be safe on the road.
“If you have the patience to train, then you really need to do it because these young people need people who really care about this business, who care about them, and care that they learn how to do this job correctly, so that they stay safe and everybody else around them gets home safe,” Hartman urged. “Believe me, you will learn more than you thought you ever learned from some of the young people coming up, especially ones that their native language is not from the U.S. They are born somewhere else, and they come here for the American dream.
“I love my job," Hartman concluded. "I love the people I've met, and I love the opportunities that have come to me. You have to be very independent, to get your instruction and do your job, to the best of your ability, every single day. You give that, and you'll never be without a job in your life. Not in this industry.”
