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December 22, 1999 10:08 AM, EST

Vicki Carpenter started her career in late 1980s as a truck drer practically standing up in the cab, as she wedged a king-sized pillow behind her on a specially mounted seat so she could reach the pedals while strapped in safely and still have some support for her back.

	Vicki Carpenter
	Vicki Carpenter, a member of America’s Road Team and a driver for RPS Inc., says trucks are better designed for women.

More than 1.5-million accident-free miles later — she has gone her entire career without so much as a traffic ticket — Carpenter is a member of America’s Road Team.

But she hasn’t had to deal with such difficult cab conditions in recent years. These days, truck manufacturers are building cabs with the driver in mind and providing features that weren’t available in previous decades.

Carpenter has found her comfort zone behind the wheel of a Kenworth. In fact, the manufacturer has been so willing to design its cabs to meet the needs of women that she says, “I tell everybody Kenworth is a woman’s truck.”

For the full story, see the Dec. 20 print edition of Transport Topics. .