A New Dawn?

Sure you would have read about Yogita Raghuvanshi, the woman truck driver, who drove the 16-tonner potato vehicle into the APMC Navi Mumbai complex in the first week of August. Well, she is not the first or the ONLY woman truck driver in India.  Selvamani from Tamilnadu is there too.

Yogita, by the way, is no uneducated woman behind the truck steering. As of now, the Commerce-cum-LLB degree holder (Yes, she can practice ‘law’ at any court in India!) has 500,000 km mileage to her credit. Add to that a genuine ‘HCV licence’. She is no ordinary personality.

In case, you have not read her saga, here is this gutsy lady’s story: Check out: http://goo.gl/IUBcKU and  http://goo.gl/E5wyNJ ).

Our highway vultures – read RTOs – are ruthless as usual to this lady truck driver. No gender differential!

“There is dearth of truck drivers today, she said. For the last decade there have been hardly any new drivers joining this trade. She attributed the problem to the harassment by policemen and RTO sleuths along every highway”,  says the report.

What about highway amenities? Listen to her:

“I finally took a bath. It was my first after Agra, which was last Sunday," she said beaming, adding that sleeping in the ghats, bathing by the riverside and using open air washrooms were something she had become used to.”

Shame on every single stakeholder: motor maliks, transporters, 3PLs, OEMs, Federal and state governments.

Sixty plus years after the Independence, none bothered to create the basic facility for these unsung heroes/heroines who feed, clothe and shelter us day in day out.

Governments at the Centre – even when the same political party was ruling both at the Federal and state levels – and states have done literally nothing to address the genuine needs of truck driving fraternity. Shameful and disgraceful.

What is the point of legislating laws if there is no will to implement? Sections 135 & 138 of Motor Vehicle Act specifically talk about highway amenities. While the law was enacted by the Parliament years ago, the implementation is left to states.

Like in the case of overload issue which incidentally has been banned by Supreme Court through its landmark 2005 judgment, once again the Federal government points fingers at states for laxity in implementation.

Yogita took to truck driving as she saw the job potential. If she is a lady, so what? she rightly asked that question and answered positively.

Have we not seen women conductors in Delhi Transport Corporation buses? Have we not seen female attendants at petrol pumps in cities? Have we not driven in cabs motored by women? Are we not familiar with women constables (not the sari-clad, but the pant-and-shirt wearing types) at police thanas and traffic intersections? Even National Security Guards – yes, the Black Cats – have women in their ranks. Nurses and teachers are the stereo-type female job dominators.

Have we not seen women truck drivers on the US-Canada belts steering on tougher terrains, courtesy Discovery TV channel? In this age of Youtube, type ‘women truck drivers” and you will be amazed at the volume of entries that pop up. Cathy Sherman, Lauren Galloway, Gili Williams, Vijante Solitaria, Kithic Wheeler are some of the lady drivers who will floor you in these memorable video clips. Or try “Volvo Trucks Ladies Day” and see for yourself.

 

There is nothing male-centric about truck driving. Why not women? Forget the catcalls and the bitching part male drivers may indulge. Women have overcome these obstacles beautifully. Why?

“Anything men do, women perform better,” asserts Jaiveer Johal, the Chennai-based late twenties and London School of Economics-returned managing director of Johal Logistics, who supplies jockey drivers to truck OEMs such as Ashok Leyland and Daimler Commercial Vehicles India.

“Can you question their welfare DNA? Can you question their ability to manage stressful situations? Forget about that. Women score over men in most respects. So, women truck drivers is nothing to be sneered at,” responds Rajan Agarwal, Managing Director of Rinku Commercial Carriers.

But, few questions, says Rajan.

What?

If they are going to be away on highways, who will take care of their children? Will husbands (non-truck drivers) don the mantle of house-keepers?

Rajan is skeptical.

I am not.

What makes me so optimistic on tackling this issue?

With the induction of women truck drivers, I foresee a slew of positive developments, I assure the Rinku Commercial Carriers malik.

There will be a big change, all around. To begin with, women will be empowered. They will have a job of their own. Greater cash flow at home. Better education. Better healthcare for their parivar (family).

Balwadis (childcare centres at villages) can be strengthened at the village level. Today, these state government-funded activities do not function full time. Like schools or Primary healthcare centres (PHCs), they work fixed hours. If more women at village/district levels can be trained properly under the Automotive Skill Development Council (ASDC), it will be begin to address the looming driver shortage problem.

Needless to harp on the greater patience and grasping power of the so-called weaker sex. Maybe these ASDC-certified women drivers may be deployed in the local level. This may translate into two things: those men who concentrate on local trips within a radius of 100 km so that they can handle the same day return trip may lose out opportunities to women drivers and thus compelled to look for better alternatives viz., other local jobs or take to longer duration trips. Additional supply of truck drivers is a bonus, indeed.

Next, assume that these ASDC-certified women truck drivers are put to long trips. Yogita and Selvamani are living examples of long haul truck driving by women. What more endorsement, one needs?

Yes, there are challenges. More women truck drivers on highways will bring a lot more disciplined driving. Why? They will not – repeat NOT – drink and drive. Is safe and timely delivery not what consignors and consignees are looking for? Is accident-less highways not something the government is aspiring for?

“We have no gender bias. ASDC will be interested training women truck drivers also,” says Balasubramaniam, Lead Trainer, based out of Chennai and who is spearheading ASDC’s Training The Trainer portfolio.

  

What about highway amenities? That’s precisely the point. With more women truck drivers, more oil marketing companies (IOC, BPCL, HPCL etc) will spend more of their CSR budget in making their pump-side toilets more user-worthy. Today, they are not.

Women, by nature, are more disciplined and orderly and seldom tolerate dirty surroundings. Maybe the unhygienic roadside dhabas get a facelift.

Men bathe in the open from huge water tanks – rain or shine. With women truck drivers getting inducted, close door bathing and toilet facilities may crop up.

And on the issue of corrupt RTOs and traffic police in every single state. Women truck drivers versus RTOs/TIs will a beautiful battle to watch out. They will be able to tackle such goons in a much better way than their male counterparts.

Let us not forget the highway safety. Every single state will be forced to improve road safety of cargo and drivers – with women at wheels.

Yes, it is a long term dream. Doable by 2020. Or even beyond. It will be a win-win situation. OEMs (both as consignors and consignees) get better delivery schedules. Less accidents on highways with more disciplined women truck drivers.