Luca Klimmt – who passed her HGV test in October 2023 and was offered a role driving lorries with her current employer – says ‘it’s like driving a car’.
A glam brunette says people presume she owns a ‘girly’ Fiat 500 – but are stunned when she reveals she drives a 32-tonne bin lorry.
Luca Klimmt became a van driver while working a warehouse job, but decided to take her lorry licence test in a bid to earn more cash.
The 32-year-old passed her HGV test in October 2023 and was offered a role driving lorries with her current employer – along with a whopping £10,000 salary increase.
Luca says people presume she drives a Fiat 500, widely perceived as a ‘girl car’ due to its popularity among female drivers, and are shocked when she reveals her occupation.
But Luca, who owns a Hyundai Veloster, says driving the 33ft-long Volvo FM truck daily feels so normal to her now that ‘it’s like driving a car’.
A typical working day starts at 5am, where she drives up to 250 miles per shift, collecting chemical waste from businesses across the south west, before dumping it at the tip.
Luca says she still faces outdated stereotypes that women ‘can’t drive’ but rubbishes the claim as ‘anyone who has arms and legs’ can drive a lorry as long as they’re trained.
Now Luca is encouraging other women who’ve been thinking about getting their HGV licence to ‘go for it’.
Luca, from Exeter, Devon, said: “A Fiat 500 has got a reputation as quite a girly car – a lot of girls have it as their first car. People are shocked when I tell them that I drive a bin lorry.
“People sometimes assume I’ve got a male driver in the cab, I have to tell them that I work alone and I do it all on my own.
“At work I’ve had random people ask me if there’s a man with me, if I’ve got anyone to help me, or if I actually drive the lorry.”
Luca, who clocks up around 1,000 miles a week, said: “I start at about 5am, it’s rough.
“I have set customers every week so I have the same route every week.
“It works out at about 20 customers per day, and I cover most of Somerset and Dorset by myself.
“I collect chemical waste from places like care homes and nurseries and take it all to the tip twice a week.
“I do about 250 miles per day, it’s more than 1,000 miles per week.
“Driving itself is fine. I’m so used to it now I don’t even think about it, it’s like driving a car.”
Claiming she’s the only female lorry driver her company employs nationwide, Luca says she’d love to see more women working in the industry.
Luca said: “I’m the only female lorry driver in my company nationwide but everyone just treats me equally at work, which is really nice. I don’t get any kind of different treatment.
“It would be good to have more women in the industry.
“You do get the assumption that men think women can’t drive still in this age.
“It’s like ‘come on now, we’ve all got the same arms and legs – anyone can drive it [a lorry] if you’re trained’.
“My boyfriend thinks it’s really cool.”
Luca is encouraging other women who have been thinking about getting their lorry licence to ‘go for it’.
Luca said: “If other women have been thinking about become a female lorry driver I would say just do it and try it for yourself, it’s not as scary as you think.”