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The Big Shut Down (Semi Trucks). In 1973 a truck driver named named J.W. Edwards shut his semi truck down on Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania. His handle on the C.B. Radio was “River Rat”. This would be the first time that the American Trucker got a national voice.
Frustrated with an oil embargo Edwards had enough. With diesel jacked high in price and sanctions set on fuel supplies, he was sick of barley making it from fuel stop to fuel stop. Running out of fuel, he decided to shut down right there and hop on his C.B. Radio.
With in a day, 10 states were seeing protests and gridlock on the interstates and major highways. Along with the embargo, there was a national push to limit long haul truck drivers to 55mph. This would mean more frustrations and less pay for the truckers.
For the most part the protests were deemed peaceful. All but one state, Ohio, was relatively calm. Set state of Ohio however, called for the national guard to remove truckers from picketing and they used tear gas to do it. Never before and since then has there ever been a united force of truckers that effected Americas highways the way this time period did.
Truckers yesterday and today United We Stand Divided We Fall
Trucker back then used the C.B. Radio for most of their communication. In just one day, their protests were nationally known throughout the community of trucking. They stuck together and were heard loud and clear.
Today, it’s hard to get two truckers to agree. With social media and politics dividing America, we seem to have forgotten that old saying that we were raised with, “United we Stand, Divided we Fall”. The government knows this and that is why you never hear this quote. We are a divided nation and that will always help their cause.
Florida Man Naked on A Semi Truck
A Florida man was seen running onto a lowboy semi truck this past week. During stopped traffic, the unidentified man was seen climbing onto a big rig hoping for a ride. Police caught up to him and took him to a hospital to be mentally evaluated.
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The Big Shut Down (Semi Trucks)