Meet the female West Lothian trucker making waves in a male-dominated world

AuthorEmma Cooper-Raeburn
Published date18 June 2022
Publication titleEdinburghLive (Scotland)
The social media star has made a name for herself on Tiktok, with nearly 22,000 followers with many of her videos going viral and gaining up to 150,000 views a time

The 25-year-old hasn't let her gender stop her from achieving her dreams, and frequently posts to her 18,500 Instagram followers her haulage adventures from Broxburn, West Lothian.

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According to Backline Logistics, out of the 315,000 registered truck drivers in the UK, only 2,200 are female and only one per cent are HGV drivers.

Talking about how she became interested in the trucking and the hauling industry, Kayla said: "I went to Truckfest five or six years ago and I loved it. I loved the cool trucks, and all the cool, shiny stuff, and I just thought 'I'm going to go get my class 2'.

"I told my mum and she said 'you'll never be able to do that, you have false nails and wear make-up' and I turned around to her and said 'watch me.'"

Kayla was studying for a degree in accounting at the same time as practising for her practical and theory tests, which she passed first time.

"I never planned to use my license, I knew I just wanted one," she said. "I knew one or two ladies in the industry beforehand but nothing other than that. Normally people who go into the industry know loads of people beforehand, or can get their license for horse lorries if they're wanting to be a groom etc, but I got my license for no reason other than I wanted one."

The 25-year-old has become a phenomenon on Tiktok, where she regularly uploads videos of her life as a young, female truck driver.

She has become an inspiration to many young girls who want to follow in her footsteps, but feel as though their femininity is holding them back.

She said: "Young girls message me all the time asking how I got into this industry. I've actually got a detailed description in my notes app that I just fire out to anyone who asks me.

"One of my presentations at University was on how to be a lorry driver, which I've saved so I also send that out to people. I love it when young people message me. I was 23 when I passed but I feel there are only a few under 25s in this industry. I think it's a brilliant industry to get into and there are less demanding jobs that women can come in to."

"I...

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