According to statistics, only two to three percent of all trucks in Germany are driven by women. This fact makes many of these women transporting goods from A to B in their heavy commercial vehicles all the more enthusiastic about driving. Take Julia Lepek, for example, who alternates between driving a Mercedes-Benz Actros and an Actros L for the shipping company Große-Vehne Speditions GmbH in Kornwestheim near Stuttgart. Born in Poland, she has lived in Germany since 2013, and what she appreciates most is the assistance systems on board these vehicles.
She often catches surprised glances as she overtakes other vehicles on the highway; she sees others watching with excitement as she skillfully performs difficult maneuvers on the delivery ramp; and she notices the critical looks she receives in other traffic situations: When Julia Lepek talks about her everyday life as a professional driver, it quickly becomes clear that many of her male colleagues underestimate her ability behind the wheel of a truck. “That’s the reality, unfortunately”, affirms the 25-year-old driver, but it is not enough to take the fun out of the job for her. “I always like showing men that I can do this,” she emphasizes explicitly. “If a man can work in a nail salon or do make-up, why shouldn’t I be able to drive a truck as a woman?”
She has driven her Mercedes-Benz Actros for five years now, loaded mainly with parts for passenger cars, trucks, and buses bearing the three-pointed star, and primarily across southern Germany and France for Große-Vehne Speditions GmbH. This shipping company specializes in logistical services for sectors including the automotive, textile, and beverage industries.
Prior to this, Julia Lepek completed three years of professional driver training with the cooperative network GV Trucknet, which operates almost 1,200 of its own trucks – mostly from Mercedes-Benz. “There have always been a lot of truck drivers in my family. As a young girl, I was fascinated by the job and, above all, by the vehicles themselves”, says Lepek. “I always like the feeling I get when I climb in my truck and hit the road – you feel free somehow, and you have the opportunity to discover new areas.” At the same time, her job has helped her become more self-confident. “This is because I mastered my training program with ease.” As such, she can also give some useful tips to her younger female colleagues at the company who are currently working on their professional driver training and who frequently accompany her on her trips.
Julia Lepek travels almost 100,000 kilometers per year easily. It goes without saying that she has had to master many different hazardous traffic situations. “But I feel very safe in my Actros”, she says. This is especially true because, at Große-Vehne, the primary focus is on using the high-tech equipment in its trucks in addition to the assistance systems already required. “The comfort and safety of our drivers is our top priority”, emphasizes René Große-Vehne, Managing Director of GV Management, who is well aware that properly equipped vehicles also attract qualified specialists.
Active Brake Assist and MirrorCam are particularly well received
Julia Lepek considers the Active Brake Assist 5 on board her Actros, for example, to be incredibly valuable, as it has already served her well on many occasions. “I could not have braked so quickly myself in many situations because my view was obstructed, but fortunately Active Brake Assist 5 responded immediately and brought my truck to a stop”, she recalls.
“In my opinion, women generally drive more defensively, think ahead a lot, take fewer risks, and keep more distance”, she says, summarizing her own personal experience driving daily long-distance haulage. Unfortunately, respect for other drivers has decreased and aggressiveness has increased.
When asked about her dream truck, the answer came immediately: an Actros L in pink with a GigaSpace cab. She already drives a silver Actros L occasionally. In addition to the classic assistance systems, she especially values the MirrorCam, the Multimedia Cockpit, and the fuel efficiency and economy of the third-generation OM 471 commercial vehicle engine. But it will soon be time for her to switch gears in terms of drive technology, because her next vehicle will be an eActros 300. “I am very much looking forward to this, because the vehicle dynamics, the silent cruising, and the barely noticeable gear changes are very impressive”, explains Julia Lepek, describing her impressions from her test drives. But whether electric or conventional diesel: “The most important thing for me is to arrive at my destination without an accident.”
About Große-Vehne
GV Trucknet has more than 2,700 employees, including over 100 trainees, at its 14 businesses in nine locations. This cooperative network uses 1,200 of its own trucks, 90 percent of which are from the Mercedes-Benz brand.
It focuses on automotive logistics, depot and systems transport for the CEP industry, as well as retail, beverage, and textile logistics. These logistics companies cover an area of almost 110,000 square meters. This year, GV Trucknet is celebrating its 50th anniversary, having put its first truck on the road in 1974.
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