Truckers pull rigs off road in loosely organized protest of fuel prices

[one...two...tree 2,762]

AP

TRENTON, N.J. -- Independent truckers around the country pulled their rigs off the road and others slowed to a crawl on major highways in a loosely organized protest of high fuel prices.

Some truckers, on CB radios and trucking Web sites, had called for a strike today 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.

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.

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

Some other truckers, however, didn't join the protests, saying they doubted a strike or mass demonstration would be effective because trucking companies are not on board and there is 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 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.

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.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-truc...0,1628075.story

[Krikit 1,164]

Well, if that isn't a puzzled look, I don't know what is.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Well, if that isn't a puzzled look, I don't know what is.

That's totally Jinky right there.

[YuAndDan 153]

I agree completely, I cannot understand how or why diesel fuel is priced higher than premium gasoline, diesel is less refined than gas, so should be less expensive to produce than gasoline. This smells like gouging by the oil companies.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Well, if that isn't a puzzled look, I don't know what is.

Crikey dear... if you KNEW brother Steven was your dad, wouldn't you be puzzled?????????? I love you bro

People in my Commies for Christ chapter in Seattle are really pizzed about gas prices as well. So much so that Bren has offered to barricade I-5...

[kaydee457 13]

Well, the democrats promised the electorate that if they were given both houses that they would control the price of oil .....Someone needs to tutor them as they don't understand the concept that lower prices is better than higher prices! HArry, Nancy, are you listening?

So here it is, two years later, and the prices are even higher! ####### have they been doing?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Well, the democrats promised the electorate that if they were given both houses that they would control the price of oil .....Someone needs to tutor them as they don't understand the concept that lower prices is better than higher prices! HArry, Nancy, are you listening?

So here it is, two years later, and the prices are even higher! ####### have they been doing?

Yes, it's the Democrats fault...damn dirty liberals.

[Heracles 417]

Well, the democrats promised the electorate that if they were given both houses that they would control the price of oil .....Someone needs to tutor them as they don't understand the concept that lower prices is better than higher prices! HArry, Nancy, are you listening?

So here it is, two years later, and the prices are even higher! ####### have they been doing?

Democrats promised a lot since taking the house and senate. Heck Hillary even promised she was a war hero..

[kaydee457 13]

Nancy P. and Harry Reid have been remarkably silent on this issue lately.....wonder why?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

LOL I had friends stuck on the Turnpike today!!! Losers!

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Nancy P. and Harry Reid have been remarkably silent on this issue lately.....wonder why?

You mean your Fox News Channel is silent. Try watching C-Span.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Here, Kaydee, I'll spoon feed you the news you won't get on your Fox station...

By Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - Top executives of the five biggest U.S. oil companies said Tuesday they know high fuel prices are hurting consumers, but deflected any blame and argued their profits - $123 billion last year - were in line with other industries.

"On April Fool's Day, the biggest joke of all is being played on American families by Big Oil," said Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., as his committee began hearing from the oil company executives.

Lawmakers were looking for answers to the soaring fuel costs a day after the Energy Department said the national average price of gasoline reached a record $3.29 cents a gallon and global oil prices remained above $100 a barrel although supplies of both gasoline and oil seemed to be adequate.

....

The House last year and again on Feb. 27 approved legislation that would have ended the tax breaks for the oil giants, while using the revenue to support wind, solar and other renewable fuels and incentives for energy conservation. The measure has not passed the Senate.

The oil industry has argued on Capitol Hill and at the White House that the tax breaks are needed to assure continued investment in exploration, production and refinery expansions. President Bush has promised to veto any such bill, saying the oil companies should not be singled out.

....

On Monday, Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii, said the president should release oil from the government's emergency reserve to put more supplies on the market, saying, "We are quite clearly in the midst of an energy emergency." He noted the bankruptcy of Aloha Airlines, blamed in part on high jet-fuel costs.

The White House has repeatedly rejected use of the oil in the federal Strategic Petroleum Reserve to influence prices.

http://www.kimatv.com/news/business/17187756.html#

[Teacher Mark 53]

I agree completely, I cannot understand how or why diesel fuel is priced higher than premium gasoline, diesel is less refined than gas, so should be less expensive to produce than gasoline. This smells like gouging by the oil companies.

There's no doubt that the oil companies are gouging, BUT here is one of the reasons diesel prices have risen:

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/air/cars/DieselFuel.html

Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel is a good thing. The amount of fuel a rig burns is unbelievable (I get somewhere around 6.5 miles to the gallon on average).

There needs to be some major changes soon or the whole country is going to feel the effects of high diesel prices. If someone like Jimmy Hoffa came along again and organized us we could cripple the economy in a matter of days. The only crippling I would do by shutting down is the damage I would do to my and my companies bank accounts. If I didn't make a show (I'm a driver in the entertainment industry) I would expose myself and the company to a lawsuit. I like this company and the people who own/run it, so that's not happening. I have working for major trucking outfits that I would have been more than happy to tell them I wasn't moving though.

[kaydee457 13]

Here, Kaydee, I'll spoon feed you the news you won't get on your Fox station...

By Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - Top executives of the five biggest U.S. oil companies said Tuesday they know high fuel prices are hurting consumers, but deflected any blame and argued their profits - $123 billion last year - were in line with other industries.

"On April Fool's Day, the biggest joke of all is being played on American families by Big Oil," said Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., as his committee began hearing from the oil company executives.

Lawmakers were looking for answers to the soaring fuel costs a day after the Energy Department said the national average price of gasoline reached a record $3.29 cents a gallon and global oil prices remained above $100 a barrel although supplies of both gasoline and oil seemed to be adequate.

....

The House last year and again on Feb. 27 approved legislation that would have ended the tax breaks for the oil giants, while using the revenue to support wind, solar and other renewable fuels and incentives for energy conservation. The measure has not passed the Senate.

The oil industry has argued on Capitol Hill and at the White House that the tax breaks are needed to assure continued investment in exploration, production and refinery expansions. President Bush has promised to veto any such bill, saying the oil companies should not be singled out.

....

On Monday, Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii, said the president should release oil from the government's emergency reserve to put more supplies on the market, saying, "We are quite clearly in the midst of an energy emergency." He noted the bankruptcy of Aloha Airlines, blamed in part on high jet-fuel costs.

The White House has repeatedly rejected use of the oil in the federal Strategic Petroleum Reserve to influence prices.

http://www.kimatv.com/news/business/17187756.html#

No, this was covered on FOX....just the same old bunch of characters that pay lip service to something they clearly have no control over.....Oil is a commodity that's traded on world marketsand congress can blow smoke out their collective arses all they want but they know they have no control over it.

Unfortunately they try to persuade the uninformed, such as yourself, that they do have control.

Here's a novel idea. Why don't they (the democrats) allow exploration off the coast of Florida? How about ANWR? This is why we're buying oil on world markets.........because democrats are in bed with the loony environmentalists.

How many times have they convened this very kind of hearing in the past? Frankly, it's a waste of everyone’s time.

As for "alternative technologies". There are not yet viable substitutes for oil and probably won't be in the near future. It's simply a boondoggle and a waste of money.

Sheesh, liberals.......

[HAL 9000 96]

Well, the democrats promised the electorate that if they were given both houses that they would control the price of oil .....Someone needs to tutor them as they don't understand the concept that lower prices is better than higher prices! HArry, Nancy, are you listening?

So here it is, two years later, and the prices are even higher! ####### have they been doing?

Yes, it's the Democrats fault...damn dirty liberals.

Yes, damn dirty veto power Mr. BushCo practices whenever his company friends need a hand against Congress.