Say What?

Question: Do you consider this a dangerous job?

William Ringstaff, 42, Omaha, NE

Professional driving experience: 16 years

“Yes. It can be very dangerous if you don’t pay attention to what you’re doing. Then you have a lot of people who are looking to steal a load. There are people who are looking to do whatever kind of mischief they can think of. That makes it dangerous for all of us, but it’s especially dangerous for a solo female driver.”

Diana Smith, 40, Kingston, OK

Professional driving experience: 8 years

“I don’t consider the driving part itself particularly dangerous. The job is dangerous because you have ignorant men out here who want to take advantage of women. My big issue is women’s safety. There are solo women out here and there’s nothing to protect us other than our own wits. We’re not allowed to carry any kind of weapon to protect us when we get mistaken for lot lizards, like I did.”

Linda Beckman, 49, Phoenix, AZ

Professional driving experience: 9 years

“I think it’s very dangerous. People don’t pay attention any more to what’s going on around them on the road. They have something on their mind or they are on the cell phone. They're just not paying attention, so they switch lanes thinking they are the only ones on the road.”

Larry Faul, 59, Independence, KY

Professional driving experience: 38 years

“A job is what you make of it. If you obey the rules and regulations and keep your nose clean, it’s safe. It you don’t, it can be very dangerous.”

Kenneth Harrison, 61, Tampa Bay, FL

Professional driving experience: 9 years

“Oh yeah, it can be dangerous. The problem is the lack of knowledge on the part of other people out on the road. The truckers themselves are fairly safe. It’s the other drivers out here who have absolutely no idea what it’s like to drive around a big rig. I even saw a cop just today go from the extreme right lane to extreme left in one move. Yeah, he put his turn signal on, but it was like, zip, zip, zip. He cut off two cars and a truck.”