Breaking the Ice: Women Driving DHL Across Sweden

Caroline Saastamoinen steers her 24-meter-long truck safely on Scandinavia’s wintery roads. We accompanied her for a day.

It’s a freezing cold morning in Sundsvall, Sweden – minus 7° C to be exact. We’re about 370 kilometers north of Stockholm. There’s snow on the ground, the sun is shining, and Caroline Saastamoinen is in a cheerful mood as she arrives at the DHL Freight terminal. Out in the courtyard, the 24-meter-long truck she’ll be driving today is waiting – a yellow and red DHL biogas truck glistening with ice.

Carro, as she is known to colleagues, has worked as a truck driver for the past 10 years, including two at DHL Freight. Today she has several pick-ups on her route. A team of 30 drivers work at the terminal in Sundsvall. A total of 32 trucks are in operation, travelling north and south, collecting freight from across the length of Sweden for delivery in the region.

Ready for the road

Before she sets off, Saastamoinen conducts a thorough vehicle check. She starts with the tire pressure, tapping with a hammer on all tires. “If the pressure is low, then the sound will be muffled,” she explains. Next, she checks the oil level, windshield wiper fluid, the trailer coupling and brakes, as well as the handles on the doors – everything’s just as it should be. It’s a check she performs every day, and one that’s even more important in the Scandinavian winter. With temperatures often in the double-digit minus range and roads thick with ice and snow, the conditions can be challenging for vehicles.

The check now complete, Saastamoinen climbs the four steep steps into her cab. She has good visibility sitting up so high. An array of mirrors positioned on both sides of the truck ensures she sees everything, including what’s happening down below. Before she starts the engine, she slips her driver’s card into a device that records her driving periods and the length of her breaks. Then she has to take an alcohol test.

That done, she puts the key in the ignition and sets off. The truck rolls majestically from the courtyard in the direction of the first stop on Saastamoinen’s route. The roads are icy in some places and she needs to pay attention. “I always drive with care,” she says. “Driving this huge truck, I have a responsibility to make sure that nothing happens. Not to me, not to the freight and not to others on the road.”

Customers along the route

Saastamoinen’s customers are always in and around Sundsvall. She doesn’t drive the longer distances further north and south. “It’s great,” says Saastamoinen, “because I can take my two-year-old son to daycare and be home again in the afternoon.” She had worked right up to the time she went on maternity leave and even climbed behind the wheel when her baby belly had gotten quite big.

The first stop of the day is pallet maker TomPall. Saastamoinen parks the truck in the courtyard, jumps down and opens up the doors of the truck and the trailer. TomPall’s forklift driver begins loading pallets with millimeter precision onto the truck. Despite the cold, Saastamoinen waits nearby until he’s finished. “I always stay close while the customer loads the freight. They might need my help and I have to see that everything’s in order,” she says.

Before long, she’s back at the wheel, steering the lengthy vehicle safely through Sweden’s wintery landscape. As she arrives at the second customer, a special freight awaits. It’s a mobile, trailer-mounted heater from the equipment leasing company Skanska Rental AB. This time Saastamoinen has to get involved. She climbs into the trailer to secure the heater with strapping lashes, then turns to Skanska Rental’s Dan Bergkvist and asks for advice on the best way to offload the heater to avoid the risk of damage.

Saastamoinen is always one step ahead. That’s something Bergkvist is keen to confirm: “Carro is always friendly and flexible. If we forget something, we just call DHL and if she or another driver in the area has space on their truck, they’ll come by to pick it up. It’s great!”

Dream job

These are the moments Saastamoinen loves about her job. “I really like meeting so many different people, seeing new things, being outdoors so much, and the freedom of being on the road,” she says. “It’s nice when the customers know you and miss you on days when you’re not working. For them, we drivers are DHL.”

In many countries, women truck drivers are rare. The job is still very much a male domain. But in Sweden, it’s becoming more and more common and that’s also the result of a strong employer branding effort – in Sundsvall there are several women among the 30-strong driver team. For Saastamoinen it’s just part of everyday life. But she occasionally encounters some old fashioned stereotyping. “I sometimes get compliments from customers who say I handle my truck really well. But why? Would they say that to a man? I can do anything I want to, regardless of my gender. That’s why I don’t want to be treated differently than men.”

Great team spirit

Once she’s picked up all shipments on her schedule, Saastamoinen drives back to the terminal. The rest of the team are still out on the road. “We always offload everything and then decide together what shipment needs to go on which truck for onward transportation.” The drivers are a great team, with great team spirit. “I really have a fantastic bunch of colleagues,” says Saastamoinen. “When things don’t go quite as planned, they make the day easier to bear. They’re not just colleagues, they’re friends.”

Saastamoinen encourages other girls and women to do whatever they want to do. “I had an intern and let her do the work alongside me to give her a good idea of what my job is like. She became a driver later on. I was really happy when I found out!”

Photos: Rania Rönntoft