Young truckie shares job secrets amid major warning for Aussie industry: 'Massive problem'
She might have more than 200,000 followers across social media, but just don't call her an influencer. She's a truck driver who happens to make videos, taking Aussies behind the wheel to show what life is like on the road and behind some of the country's biggest vehicles.
Casuarina Smith isn't who you would expect to be driving big rigs or road trains in mining sites, but she's worked her way up in the industry dominated by older men. At the age of 26 she threw in her job at an insurance company and a "miserable" corporate career to follow her dad and sister into the truckie life.
"We're farmers, turned truck drivers," she told Yahoo News Australia of her family. "There's just no money for the small guys anymore [in farming]."
The change from sitting behind a desk to sitting behind a wheel instantly suited her. "When I transitioned ... I was taking home more money every week from driving trucks," she said, recalling that she was "blown away" by the potential money that could be made.
Better known as CJ, some nine years later and she's now become one of the most prominent faces in the more than $70 billion Aussie trucking industry.
In a previous trip driving from Adelaide to Coober Pedy when she was still fresh in the industry, her dad came along for the ride and CJ filmed parts of the journey for her own recollection. It helped spark an idea, and eventually – about two years ago – she began posting videos of her job because she couldn't see anybody else out there doing it.
"Typically in our industry we're not allowed to post anything online," she said. "It's very shunned, and I guess it's seen as a liability."
"I thought that was really disappointing because how do we encourage other people to get in the industry if we're not actually showing what's involved?"
So she went to HR and showed them a video of the trip she drove with her dad and got permission to post about what she's doing on the road.
Since obtaining the "top licence" and navigating the world of fuel tankers and road trains she's turned the unique role into a small social media empire and become the de facto representative for a new generation of truckers.
"I had all these questions that I had no idea about, and I thought if I can learn something and share that with others, then others don't have to feel stupid in asking those questions," she told Yahoo. With so many drivers about to retire "and take that knowledge with them", CJ is trying to ask as many questions as she can to pass on the insights from older colleagues before it's too late.
It's a service that could prove vital for the hugely important sector in Australia. Earlier this month, a report revealed that about 28,000 heavy-vehicle driving jobs went unfilled in Australia last year, prompting truckies to call for an industry overhaul to attract more young drivers.
The same report, from the International Road Transport Union, found that nearly half of drivers in the country were over 55 and therefore nearing retirement, while a meagre five per cent of drivers were under 25.
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It's a worrying state of affairs, says Wade Lewis, who is the vice president of the Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association.
"State and federal governments are going to have to step up and say we are going to start putting a lot more focus on this because it's really important we have young people coming through," he told the ABC, adding that long-distance truckers can comfortably earn as much as $150,000 a year.
"We already have a massive, massive problem. Every single trucking company is on trouble with drivers – they can't get them," CJ told Yahoo News about the headwinds facing the industry.
"Truckers have got a bit of a dirty name," she said. "I think at schools, no one encourages someone to be a truck driver."
CJ doesn't just share videos relevant for those interested in the industry, but also for everyday drivers, highlighting potential road mistakes that could end in serious disaster – like trying to overtake a turning truck.
Particularly when she's driving on remote roads where she's able to get a drone up to perfectly illustrate the potential dangers of not giving trucks the requisite space.
"My god, it happens all the time," CJ said. "There's an overwhelming naivety about how much space we need... People just don't know.
"People see a tiny gap and jump in it not realising we actually had that space on purpose."
It's advice that is echoed by the Executive Director of the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR), Michelle Tayler. Speaking to Yahoo News recently, she said the one thing truckers want to convey to drivers is to always remain respectful of sheer power and size of Australia's transport trucks.
"We've got more than 200,000 truck drivers across the country ... and they're on the road all the time," she said.
"It's a two way street... As a truck driver they need to respect the fact that they're in a much larger vehicle and it can be quite intimidating to smaller cars.
"But also as a smaller vehicle, if you're putting yourself in danger, you're really leaving your life in the hands of that truck driver," she said.
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Motor Trend
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