Following in the footsteps of her father, who was a truck driver when she was little, 23-year-old Madi O’Bryan has well and truly found her calling.
“I’ve always loved trucks and growing up around them, I was always keen to get into the bigger vehicles,” she told Big Rigs.
“I enjoy having the freedom to get out there and not be confined to a desk – and getting to meet all the new people that I do.”
Madi works for Qube, which she says has offered exceptional training and the opportunity to progress into various roles.
Since mid-2024, Madi’s been steering a Mercedes-Benz cabover and A-double skel for Qube, carrying two 40ft containers filled with wine and liquor for export.
She makes the 160-kilometre return trip from South Australia’s Outer Harbor on the Lefevre Peninsula to the Barossa Valley twice a day.
Image: Madi O’Bryan
On that run there are two drivers on the day shift and two on the night shift. Doing the day run alongside Madi is Paul Everett. “He’s been doing it for a very long time and he’s always willing to help me out, share his knowledge and have a chat. I’m very lucky I get to work alongside all these blokes with enormous amounts of experience.”
Speaking about her entry into truck driving four years ago, Madi explained that she was able to go straight from her car licence to her heavy combination (HC) through the Training in Lieu of Experience (TILE) course offered in South Australia.
She completed the course with Qube and undertook theory components, before hitting the road as a learner with experienced Qube truckie Ray Gilbert in the passenger seat, doing single skel work. “I drove with him for about four months. Ray is a wonderful man. He showed me how to do the job with integrity and dignity, and taught me the skills I needed to make it through – so I was very lucky,” explained Madi.
“I wanted to get all my skills up before going out on my own. My dad’s advice was to treat it like an apprenticeship.”
In 2023, Madi upgraded to her MC licence and moved into B-double skel work before progressing to the A-double work she does now.
Along with Ray teaching her early on in her career, she credits another experienced truckie with helping her to get where she is today.
Ian McMillan at McMillan & Sons Haulage is friend of the family’s and let Madi borrow his trucks on weekends to help build on her skills. “Once Dad stopped driving trucks he stayed in the logistics industry and managed grain sites. Ian used to transport grain from one of those facilities and we’ve became family friends. He let me use his trucks to practice reversing and everything like that,” said Madi. “If it wasn’t for him letting me use his truck to practice in, I wouldn’t have passed my HC or MC licences!”
Madi added that she’s thankful to Qube for giving her a go.
“Qube has been really good to work for. I’m very grateful for the opportunity they’ve given me and the faith they’ve had in me. I was one of the first female drivers on the day shift four years ago when I started there, when I was on my HC,” she explained.
“I’m very grateful they had faith in me and believed I could do the job and do it well.”
Being so young, she says there have been some in the industry who have tried to bring her down. “Everyone at Qube has always been brilliant but there were some other drivers who thought they could intimidate me because I was younger, but I don’t tolerate any of that!”
Asked her advice for any young people considering a career in trucking, Madi’s response is “just go for it”.
She continued, “I love this industry and if you find a good company to work for, you’ll never be short of work.
“I do believe there should be more training opportunities available where you get to spend more time spent with experienced drivers so you can hone in on your skills – instead of just going out into the world in a triple after getting your MC, with no actual experience.”
While she understands there’s still so much more to learn, Madi is passionate about getting on with the job and making use of the skills and knowledge she’s learned. “I find that driving a truck can bring a lot of mental fatigue though because I’m not just driving my 80 tonne vehicle but also trying to predict what other drivers around me are going to do.
“But I just get on with it – it’s water off a duck’s back.”
For Madi, she says it’s been quite the journey – and she’s had a lot of fun along the way.