Truckers' slowdown protests diesel-fuel prices

Independent truckers staged a slowdown on the nation's highways yesterday, pulling their rigs off the roads and holding demonstrations at rest stops to protest surging diesel-fuel prices.

Their action, loosely organized over CB radios and trucking Web sites, was intended to pressure the Bush administration into releasing fuel from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help lower prices, establishing a national diesel standard, and allowing exploration of off-limit areas rich in oil.

In New Jersey, Turnpike Authority spokesman Joe Orlando said yesterday that, at one point during the morning, trucks "as far as the eye can see" were driving about 20 miles per hour on the heavily traveled road, between Newark and East Rutherford. The speed limit is 65.

"The protest started at about 10:30 a.m. and caused some tie-ups," he said. "It slowed people down for about a mile or two."

State police officials were aware of the truckers' plans from flyers at rest stops and announcements on the Internet. They dispatched extra troopers who issued summons to several rig drivers for impeding the flow of traffic or for unsafe operation, according to New Jersey State Police spokesman Al Della Fave.

"Two slowdowns were attempted north of Newark," said Della Fave. "They were localized and caused minor disruption."

Motorists were directed by radio messages and electronic message boards into the cars-only lanes to avoid the slow-moving trucks.

By the early afternoon, about 200 rigs pulled into the Vince Lombardi rest stop in Bergen County to stage a demonstration and meet with the media to air their concerns.

The truckers "wanted to be heard," Orlando said. "They were orderly and never got out of control. I was much happier with them protesting in the rest area than creating unsafe conditions on the road."

The rally ended about 1:15 p.m., but state police remained vigilant. Regular turnpike patrols were augmented by truck-enforcement and tactical-patrol units at locations where trucks usually congregate.

In Pennsylvania, about 100 truckers showed up Monday at the state Capitol in Harrisburg to hold a demonstration over the fuel costs.

Christina Hampton, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, said the truckers did not stage a slowdown on the road yesterday.

But many were protesting throughout the country as diesel fuel at U.S. pumps sold for $3.96 a gallon Monday, up 54 percent since Jan. 1, 2007, according to the Energy Information Administration.

In the Chicago area, three truck drivers were ticketed for impeding traffic on Interstate 55, driving three abreast at low speeds, said Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Luis Gutierrez.

Near Florida's Port of Tampa, more than 50 tractor-trailer rigs sat idle as their drivers demanded that contractors pay them more to cover their fuel and other costs.

"We can no longer haul their stuff for what they're paying," said David Santiago, 35, a trucker for the last 17 years.

Santiago, like many of the more than 50 truckers gathered on a side street near the Port of Tampa, said he could not support his family on what he made. "If it wasn't for my wife," he said, "we would have been bankrupt already."

Some other truckers, however, did not join the protests, saying they doubted a strike or mass demonstration would be effective, because trucking companies were not on board and there was no central coordination.

"The oil company is the boss. What are we going to be able to do about it?" said Charles Rotenbarger, 49, a trucker from Columbus, Ohio, who was at a truck stop at Baldwin, Fla., about 20 miles west of Jacksonville. "The whole world economy is going to be controlled by the oil companies. There's nothing we can do about it."

Jimmy Lowry, 51, of St. Petersburg, Fla., and others said it cost about $1 a mile to drive one of the big rigs, although some companies were offering as little as 87 cents a mile. Diesel cost $4.03 a gallon at the Baldwin truck stop.

Teamsters union officials said they had nothing to do with any kind of protests. An independent truck drivers group, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, said it also was not organizing anything. Federal law prohibits the association from calling for a strike, because it is a trade association.

In Washington, top executives of the five biggest U.S. oil companies said yesterday that they were aware that high fuel prices were hurting consumers, but deflected any blame and argued their profit - $120 billion last year - was in line with other industries.