Cindy can’t do without her truck!
Cindy Schneppe is a dedicated truck driver who started her career 20 years ago through continuous professional development. Despite health challenges, she loves her job in local transport. She is committed to improving communication and health care in the industry, and is also committed to supporting disabled children and encouraging kindness among colleagues through her association “Brummifahrer mit Herz” (truck drivers with a heart).
When Cindy Schneppe talks about her job as a professional driver, it’s hard to believe that she “started driving trucks by chance”. It was about 20 years ago that the Thuringia-born woman, who was employed by a security company at the time, received an offer from the German Employment Office to undertake further professional training as a driver. “I would have been stupid if I had said no,” says the 44-year-old. At that time, she didn’t hesitate to get her passenger vehicle driver’s licence first and then her truck driver’s licence. Once she had got her qualification, she travelled as a co-driver with a friend in long-distance haulage for a week before daring to go out on the road by herself. Learning by doing – this would be the basis for a large part of her driving job. And Cindy learned quickly and found her absolute dream job behind the wheel. “After my better half also worked in long-distance haulage and was on the road all week long, I decided to do the same.” She has a lot of happy memories from this time, for example the trips to and around Sweden: “There are lots of nice people and moose,” laughs Cindy. She remembers a particular moment involving one of these animals, or half an hour to be more precise, when the animal stood on the road in front of her truck and looked through the windscreen, before finally running off.
“It is and remains my absolute dream job.”
Most of the job is based on experiences gained gradually over time. However, Cindy would like better interaction between colleagues – talking to each other more would be a good start. It would also be nice if the job gave the drivers more time and space to take better care of themselves and their health. She herself has recurring back problems, but she doesn’t let it get her down. She sits in the truck every day and drives local transport.
It’s no longer an option for Cindy not to get in the truck – preferably MAN, of course. She never gives up and is also committed to helping others as well: With her association “Brummifahrer mit Herz (Truck driver with heart)”, she organises charity events for disabled children. During the Christmas season, she also works her way around rest areas, surprising colleagues with home-baked biscuits, kind words and sometimes even a hug. Cindy wants more warmth for the industry and she leads by example.