Janet McLean (left), of Bristol, Virginia, Mary Sue Thomas (center) and Ruth Thomas, both of Meadowview, are participating in a training course that is preparing the women to receive their commercial driver’s license (CDL), making them among only 6.2% of occupational drivers who are female, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Mary Sue Thomas checks under the hood of a tractor-trailer truck, just one of the many things she must learn to do in order to pass a pretrip examination.
Janet McLean, of Bristol, Virginia, said she was looking for a different kind of career, one that will give her the adventures of the road and the freedom to work independently.
Stacy Bayse, instructor at Roger's Trucking Company in Abingdon, teaches Janet McLean (left), Ruth Thomas (center) and Mary Sue Thomas about the mechanical operations of the truck.
Mary Sue Thomas is just weeks away from taking a three-part examination for her commercial driver's license (CDL).
ABINGDON, Va. — After spending nearly four years delivering pizzas around town, 46-year-old Janet McLean is looking for a different kind of career — one that will give her the adventures of the road and the freedom to work independently.
Carolyn R. Wilson is a freelance writer in Glade Spring, Virginia. Contact her at news@washconews.com.
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Janet McLean (left), of Bristol, Virginia, Mary Sue Thomas (center) and Ruth Thomas, both of Meadowview, are participating in a training course that is preparing the women to receive their commercial driver’s license (CDL), making them among only 6.2% of occupational drivers who are female, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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