01-08-2025
Woman driver from Manachanallur blazes a trail on European highways
K. Sellammal was preparing to head out for work when The Hindu reached out to her over the phone. For the past three years, as a licensed Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) driver under contract to Hungarian haulier Baton Transport, Ms. Sellammal's daily shift takes her through a number of European countries on any given day.
'I have to clock in 615 km per shift (from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. or 5 p.m. to 5 a.m.), and often I drive through Denmark, Sweden, France, or Italy. It depends on the duty chart of the day,' Ms. Sellammal said.
At present, she shares a small house in the municipality of Gyhum in Germany with three other trailer women drivers from Kerala.
It is a big change of scene for the 34-year-old mother of two from Pachai Veli village, Thirupanjali in Manachanallur taluk. She learnt driving under the guidance of Women Entrepreneurs Association of Tamil Nadu (WEAT) in Tiruchi in 2018.
Encouraged by her husband A. Kumaran, she earned her commercial driver's licence, and also bought her own vehicle, with the idea of adding to her family's income. However, it created a heavy loan burden.
Despite being licensed to drive two-wheelers, autorickshaws, cars and heavy vehicles, Ms. Sellammal was unable to find employment locally, because of the bias against women workers.
Unfazed, she decided to get licensed in heavy transport vehicle (HTV) driving by enrolling in a 45-day course at the Ashok Leyland Driver Training Institute in Namakkal in July 2019. She was the only woman in her class of 84 learners.
Her experience as her spouse's co-driver on an Ashok Leyland Boss BS4 6-wheeler intermediate truck (8 to 14 tonnes capacity) helped her to prepare for the Hungarian company's recruitment process.
'There were over 30 Indian women drivers who applied for the job. We had to appear for eight exams in English before getting our licences. If you follow the speed limits and traffic rules, driving a trailer is quite manageable in Europe. Our dispatchers monitor our movement remotely through Global Positioning Satellite tracking,' said Ms. Sellammal.
Mr. Kumaran told The Hindu he is proud of Ms. Sellammal's achievements. 'I take care of our two sons and also work as a school bus driver in Manachanallur. Sellammal's earnings in Europe are helping us to progress in life. It is high time we appreciate women for their contribution to society, in all walks of life,' he said.
