Luella Bates

alt=Promotional photo of Luella Bates driving a FWD model B truck. Luella Bates (b. Luella Born, October 17, 1897 – d. Luella Coates, November 25, 1985) is believed to be the first licensed woman truck driver. chosen as test and demonstration drivers and worked as an FWD truck driver from 1918 to 1922. During World War I she was a test driver traveling throughout the state of Wisconsin in a Model B truck. After the war, when the majority of the women working at Four Wheel Drive were let go, she remained as a demonstrator and driver. During her stay, she met with Secretary of State of New York Francis Hugo and became the first woman truck driver to receive a driver's license in New York. thumb alt=Bates shaking hands with New York Secretary of State Francis Hugo, January 1920. Bates shaking hands with New York Secretary of State Francis Hugo, January 1920.

Bates was such a hit in New York that Four Wheel Drive decided to utilize her skills even further. In 1920, they sent her on three transcontinental tours throughout the United States. thumb

She returned to Clintonville, Wisconsin, in late July 1920. Both an expert driver and a mechanic, Bates was more than capable of completing all maintenance on her truck.thumb

During her final tour of 1920, Bates took the southern states by storm. She was now known as "our girl driver." In Oklahoma, she defied the police and took her truck across a flooded road, hauling meat for a packaging plant. This courageous venture led to the sale of ten trucks for Four Wheel Drive and much admiration for Bates. During the infancy of the trucking industry, she played an important role in the history of women in trucking.