New vehicles feature distinct features to make them more ergonomically friendly to women.
A new female-friendly truck will be available for lease in the US for the first time.
Fleet management leasing firm and supply chain services provider Ryder Systems has developed a custom vehicle design that includes 15 distinct specifications to better meet the needs of female drivers.
Ryder says it worked with a number of truck manufacturers and the Women in Trucking Association to come up with the design.
The ergonomic vehicles include features such as adjusted height and placement of cab grab handles, adjustable seatbelt shoulder straps, improved placement of dash cluster gauges, and better access to oil and coolant checks and fill ports.
Ryder says it can also provide — upon customer request — more features including custom designed seats and adjustable armrest, automated transmissions, security system that offers personal protection while a driver is in the sleeper berth and automated wheel locking mechanisms.
“This custom truck package is not only more ergonomically friendly to women, but will also benefit other drivers with the same types of needs,” Ryder executive Scott Perry says.
“Our intent is to not only help attract more women to the industry, but also to make the vehicles easier and safer for a broader range of drivers to operate.”
Women in Trucking has welcomed the initiative.
“Addressing driver comfort and truck cab design to accommodate the typically smaller stature of women is one of the issues where Women In Trucking Association is prompting changes,” president and CEO Ellen Voie says.
“We are so pleased to see Ryder’s efforts in moving these ergonomic challenges into the forefront of the manufacturers’ design changes.”
Ryder says it hopes identifying truck design gaps and influencing improvements in future vehicle designs will make truck driving a more attractive career option for women.
It is currently encouraging truck manufacturers to make adjustable foot pedal height a standard feature in future truck models.
The move stems from the results of a recent survey Women in Trucking conducted, with respondents pointing to the height of foot pedals as an important issue.
It is estimated women make up only 5 per cent of professional truck drivers in the US.
Ryder says women may be the key to resolving a truck driver shortage, which the American Trucking Associations (ATA) expects to reach 240,000 by 2022.