Erica Phillips was startled when JD Irving called her in 2006 to approve her for a free eight-week Class 1 truck driving course.
"I had no idea what I was doing," declares Phillips. She was unsure whether the transportation industry was for her. In nearly two decades, she has transitioned from being one of the few female truck drivers in New Brunswick, transporting lumber products into and out of the most desolate wooded areas, to a driver-trainer who aspires to become an examiner.
Whether it involved driving, dispatching, administration, or training new drivers, each challenge along the road fueled her enthusiasm for the job.
In 2011, she drove her 2007 Freightliner Classic even though she was 35 weeks pregnant. She had difficulty entering and exiting the vehicle. During her maternity leave, the driver she was training to replace her would occasionally give her a lift to help her get her foot on the first step.
Phillips explains, "I had to run and jump a little bit for it because my stomach was so large." "I'm sure he [the trainee] was extremely concerned that I would transport the infant in the vehicle. And I bought him a book about childbirth. He responded, "I don't want that book!" as a jest.
People believed I was insane.
Phillips claims that traveling while pregnant was not the most bizarre aspect of her trucking career. It was merely one of numerous obstacles to surmount.
Overcoming challenges
"When I first began, I did not have a child and only had myself to worry about, so I pushed myself more than I would today. Because I now have a child, she explains, she has someone to return home to.
"When I first started driving, I was willing to attempt anything. Today, however, 18 years later, I would undoubtedly make different choices than I would have made in my early years."
She says that driving in the forests is not for the faint of heart.
For example, decisions to travel in bad weather could have been hazardous. However, this is how Phillips learned to traverse the woods, allowing her to now share her knowledge with her students.
This is how she knows that red dirt and sand tend to be especially slick and sloppy when it rains. The greater the number of pebbles in the soil, the more traction a driver can anticipate. She also emphasizes that carrying a bag of salt and sand in the cab – "just enough to get you out if you get stuck" – can be a 'lifesaver' in the woods, particularly during sudden weather changes.
“Back in the day when I first started driving, I would have tried anything.”
– Erica Phillips
Additionally, chains can be helpful when traveling in mud and snow.
"I always utilized the single-wheel chain system. So, one chain on one back tire and one chain on the other back tire. And if I were familiar with the area, I would know that there is a large elevation nearby. She states, "I'm going to put my wheel chains on now, just in case I need them." "If the weather was changing, I always made sure to put those wheel chains on in advance, because they won't help you once you're in a bind."
Phillips adds that, when driving on a new forest road, it is preferable to remain closer to the middle of the path than to follow the same tracks. Frequently, road margins are soft. If everyone follows the same path and presses it deeper, vehicle floors will begin to bottom out on the crown of the road. "As you go in and out, you have to stagger a little bit to keep the road level."
Reputation for hard work
As one of a "handful" of female drivers in New Brunswick, it was simple for her to become well-known in the province. However, she believes she earned a positive reputation in a male-dominated industry.
"It wasn't always a bed of roses. Since some males disapproved of women drivers...However, I demonstrated that I could drive better than several of these men. And I kind of earned a reputation for being a diligent worker, always showing up for work, and not simply shutting down the truck at the first sign of snow."
After the birth of her daughter, she began searching for a trucking position with more stable hours, despite the excitement she felt while traveling. She transitioned from driving to dispatching in this manner at J.D. Irving.
When that position was eliminated several years later, leaving Phillips unemployed with a child to support, her reputation for diligence paid off. A former colleague contacted her after only a couple of weeks of unemployment to offer her a position as a Class 1 driver trainer in his father's school.
Phillips recalls joking that she hoped to be unemployed for an extended period of time, but she accepted the position because her prior experiences prepared her well for the new role.
"I went there on a Monday to see what it was like, and stayed for three and a half years."
Educating the next generation
While Philips trains young drivers, she continues to acquire new knowledge by overcoming obstacles.
Language barriers, for instance, can be a significant obstacle when training international students. She has instructed students from India, Brazil, Ukraine, Australia, and numerous other nations. She recalls a particular older student who did not utter a word of English upon his arrival. His daughter translated during the first instruction period. Phillips then used hand signals and an online translator to communicate.
Before arriving here, he was a driver. "He already had some experience in that regard," Phillips recalls. "However, the pre-trip inspection was likely the most difficult aspect of working with him, due to component names and such. But we made it through, he completed his duties, and he would point at something and say, "This is good." This is the only English sentence he could utter."
She adds that language barriers can sometimes be perilous. Especially when recruits cannot comprehend instructions to slow down. This has necessitated quick responses.
"You're essentially in a large lethal weapon, speeding down the road with a man who doesn't understand you," she says.
However, it generally went well.
