More Women Showing Off Skills At National Truck Driving Championships

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Big rigs, they're all over our nation's highways.

And, let's admit it, most of us have a stereotypical image of what we believe truck drivers to be.
But that image is changing as more and more women get behind the wheel.

"To be honest, I think it's great, because women, they tend to be a lot more patient and they seem to be perfectionists sot that kind of plays on us as a male driver," said John Lex with America's Road Team.

There are 11 women competing in this year's National Truck Driving Championships at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.

That's the more this event has ever seen in its 77-year history.

One of those women competing is Ina Daly from Phoenix, Ariz. She's been competing and driving for decades.

"You know, there are a lot of typical female jobs and typical male jobs," she said. "Women shouldn't be afraid to try male jobs."

Ina is exactly right about that – and KDKA's Kimberly Gill knows what she means first hand.

Before working in TV, she used to drive 18-wheelers for a living. She put herself through college driving big rigs for FedEx.

She hadn't been behind the wheel of a rig in 12 years, but gave it a try again.

"So what I'm doing right now is just building up the air supply," she said. "I'm just idling it up a little."

She was excited to see if she still had it.

"I'm used to having gears, I don't like this automatic transmission stuff," she said.

She was a little rusty on the obstacle course, but nailed everything else, especially backing.

Skill and safety are two of the most important things in that job.

And while Kimberly doesn't have any immediate plans to get behind the wheel again, she keeps her Class A commercial driver's license current, just in case.

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