Independent truckers in the US slow down to protest fuel prices

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Truckers across the US parked their rigs or slowed down to a crawl yesterday to protest rising fuel costs.

Some referred to it as a strike, while others simply took the day off, in hopes of raising awareness about the impact surging fuel costs are having on owner/operators. There didn’t appear to be any one organization behind the protests, but in today’s Internet age, truckers have been coordinating and discussing the protest online for weeks.

There were staged protests in several areas and a rolling roadblock on the New Jersey Turnpike.

The American Trucking Associations did not condone the protests, however the group has lobbied Washington in recent days to help control fuel prices. The Owner-Operators’ Independent Drivers Association, as a trade association, is not legally allowed to support a strike by its members.

While it’s not likely to impact diesel pricing overnight, the effort seems to have accomplished one thing. The protests caught the attention of the US mainstream media. Entering the word ‘trucker’ into the Google News search engine reveals dozens of reports on the activities from across the US.

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Truck News is Canada's leading trucking newspaper - news and information for trucking companies, owner/operators, truck drivers and logistics professionals working in the Canadian trucking industry.


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