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10 • DECEMBER 15-31, 2021 PERSPECTIVE
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NATIVE NEW YORKER TAKES ON STEREOTYPES AND WINS
DWAIN HEBDA | SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
If Angelique Temple had decided to throw in the towel on trucking years ago, it
would’ve been understandable. After all, the first time the Queens, New York, native
mentioned wanting to be a driver, her father immediately put his foot down.
“I was 12 and my dad was a supervisor for the New York Times,” Temple said. “I
was riding with him, and he was showing me some other things and I said, ‘Look at
that. That’s what I want to do,’ It was a tanker.
“He was like, ‘Oh, no, no, no. No daughter of mine’s going to drive a truck.’ Because
back then, the stories were horrid about the truck drivers. It wasn’t a good thing,” she
continued. “So, I was like, ‘Oh, okay.’”
There was just one problem: Temple never let go of that the dream she discovered
that day. In fact, the older she got, the stronger the dream became.
Finally, she set off to driver’s school in Virginia (where she still lives), determined
to change minds, prove people wrong and generally reshape an entire industry.
“Trucking school was great, because I actually was only one of two students,” she
said.
“Back then, everybody wasn’t really going to school ( for truck driving); a lot of
people were getting grandfathered in,” she recalled. “So, I went to school, and it was
just me and another gentleman. I didn’t have to worry about a whole crowd, and it
was great.”
Once out of driving school, it didn’t take long for Temple to discover just how deep
and ugly attitudes ran toward women in trucking at the time. But as a single mother
with mouths to feed, quitting was never an option — and Temple said her kids’ pride
in her career was enough to drown out the haters.
“I think what makes a driver in this line of work good is the dedication,” she said.
“It has to be dedication to doing the job, meaning pre-planning. You’ve got to get up at
a certain time. It doesn’t matter what you thought you were going to do that day. Just
get the job done. That’s No. 1.”
During those days, Temple’s children became more than just her family; they were
also her biggest fans.
“They made sure I didn’t quit. They made sure everybody knew who I was,” she
said, pride evident in her voice. “Most of the time raising them, it was like singlemom
status. My oldest, when people asked her questions about me, she said, ‘We’re
trucker’s kids.’ They all had that attitude growing up.”
Temple began driving tankers, just like the one she saw on that outing with her
father.
“I started delivering gasoline,” she said. “My dispatcher, my first day, he gave me
four loads. That was my first day on my own. I came back and he said, ‘What’s wrong?’
I said, ‘I’m done.’ He said, ‘You’re done? You can’t be done.’ I said, ‘I am done.’ He said,
‘Let me see your paperwork.’
“From that day, he told me, ‘I’m going to nickname you Tornado. That’s going
to be your CB handle,’” Temple shared. “I literally live that. It’s become part of my
personality. I even have it on my personal vehicle — on the front windshield it says
‘Tornado.’”
Temple wasn’t just fast; she also brought a unique blend of conscientiousness
and fearlessness to the job. Tanker driving isn’t for everyone, but she embraced the
challenge. As the loads got more dangerous, her reputation for being safe and reliable
grew.
Soon she was hauling more dangerous cargo.
“It really was different from starting out pulling gasoline, and then where I was
pulling hazmat,” she said. “You go from just going to gas stations, which is dangerous
itself, to pulling things that you cannot get on you. You go to pulling acid that, if it
touches you, you might not make it home.
SEE POWER ON PAGE 12
Courtesy: Angelique Temple
After 20 years hauling gasoline and hazardous materials, truck driver Angelique Temple launched her own business, Tornado
Transport. The company’s name refers to the nickname given to Temple by her very first dispatcher because of the speed and
efficiency with which she completed her work.