Some truckers, on CB radios and trucking Web sites, had called for a strike Tuesday to protest the high cost of diesel fuel, saying the action might pressure President Bush to stabilize prices by using the nation’s oil reserves, but the protests were scattered because major trucking companies were not on board and there did not appear to be any central coordination.

On New Jersey’s Turnpike, southbound rigs "as far as the eye can see" were moving at about 20 mph near Newark, said Turnpike Authority spokesman Joe Orlando. Other truckers had gathered at a service area near Newark chanting and protesting.

During the lunch rush at the TA Travel Center truck stop off Interstate 24 at Old Hickory Boulevard in La Vergne, Tenn., however, there were no signs of a slowdown or any reports of drivers who had parked their trucks for the day. That didn’t mean drivers there had no sympathy for their protesting colleagues in other areas.

Trucker Dave Chapman of Waverly, Ohio, said he heard while driving through the St. Louis area earlier in the day that some trucks had blocked all three lanes of Interstate 270 around the city by driving side-by-side at 40 mph. "I haven’t seen anything like that here, though," Chapman said as he stopped for lunch at the La Vergne TA Travel Center.

While it was independent drivers who staged the protests on Apr. 1, some company drivers such as Chapman said they were just as worried about the high fuel prices.

"I work for a pretty small trucking company, and I’m afraid the high prices will force it out of business and I will lose my job," Chapman said.

Larry Dreiser, an independent trucker from Atlanta with 35 years on the road, said he didn’t join the protests because he doubted they could be effective.

"I don’t believe truckers should be striking," said Dreiser, who was passing through Nashville. "And we shouldn’t be expecting the government to help us.

"Our biggest problem is that the shippers want lower rates from us and don’t want to pay any fuel surcharges."

Fellow Atlanta trucker Pablo Mendoza agreed, saying that some of the shipping companies he takes loads from are collecting fuel surcharges of 60 cents a gallon, but passing only half of that money on to the drivers who actually have to buy the fuel.

"These prices are killing us," he said. "In January, it cost me about $1,000 to $1,200 a week for fuel, but now I’m paying as much as $1,800, and I’m struggling to keep my head above water."

Truckers blame oil firms
Elsewhere across the country, there were scattered reports of disruptions caused by the protests. Outside Chicago, 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 past 17 years.

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.

Most truckers put the blame for the high fuel costs on the big oil companies.

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