Before heading out on the road, she learned that by taking a deep breath, planning her route, and simply just buckling her seat belt helped calm her nerves. As for her confidence, Jones’s husband always assured her that she was more than capable of driving a truck. “You do this every day in your car,” he would say. “You can do it in a truck!”
Now, her confidence has spilled over into leadership positions in the industry, which have given her a platform to make a difference in her truck-driving community and beyond. She’s spoken on panels aimed at other men and women in the industry about what women face on the road, whether it’s negative comments—like the time Jones was at a truck stop and a man asked why she wasn’t home taking care of her children—or harassment—like what Jones and countless other women face regularly. If the perpetrator is a fellow truck driver, Jones teaches women the proper way to respond.
“My first encounter, I didn’t do the right thing. I didn’t get the license, and I didn’t get a picture,” Jones said. “So, I make sure that I can pass that along to women—get the license plate, whatever you can.”
Educating the public and beyond
Aside from helping make trucking a better environment for women and encouraging other females to join her as a trucker, Jones also travels around the country with Operation Freedom Fleet, going to military bases and schools, encouraging soldiers coming out of the military to join the trucking industry. As an ATA America’s Road Team captain, Jones and her husband spend time educating the public about truck safety and teaching students at high schools about blind spots. They also interact with the government; just recently, as part of Truckers Against Trafficking, Jones educated 25 lawmakers in Reno, Nevada, about the components of a trailer.
See also: Summertime reminder: Most drivers aren’t professionals
Jones exudes pride when speaking about her job and being part of the trucking industry.
“I would never look back [and think] that I made the wrong decision, because I didn’t,” Jones explained. “Being a female truck driver, I absolutely love it. I shine. I smile. I’m happy.”
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