October 11, 2013

A trucker strike is happening on the Beltway in Washington D.C. and Virginia on Friday.

Some reports are saying that the strike, or protest, is not slowing down traffic much. But others are saying that it is, and that many more truckers are on the way.

“It’s early, there's a jam and more are coming as far as Canada, Florida and Ohio that I can confirm… Going to awhile ,” said Michelle Rowland, one of the group, on Facebook on Friday morning. 

Traffic appeared to slow on Friday afternoon but appears on traffic cameras of the area to be running smoothly as of 5:30 p.m.

Reporters of local broadcasters who were driving around the Beltway said that traffic was slowed a lot earlier today but that traffic sped up after that. 

“Trucker protest on Beltway has really broken up. Scattered all around and not really impeding traffic anymore,” said Nick Iannelli, a WTOP reporter, via Twitter.

The headline of WTOP’s story is “Beltway trucker protest mostly tanks,” but the live blog attached to story hasn’t been updated since 3:30 p.m.

CBS reported earlier that the “truck convoy protest” was “causing traffic problems.”

CBS reporter John Domen began following a convoy of about 15 trucks early Friday morning as they drove north along I-95 and onto I-495, and said the trucks were taking all four lanes, and slowing to 10 miles per hour.

After being pulled over, the trucks began going about 40 miles per hour, taking up three lanes and letting traffic by in the far left lane. 

A truck was pulled over later–both times, the whole convoy pulled to the shoulder–and the driver got a ticket.

One of the organizers for the movement–which is being dubbed #T2SDA–told Ianneli that he’s hoping the movement turns into an “Egyptian style” uprising.

The organizer said that thousands more will join this weekend. The protest is slated to run through Sunday night.

Over 3,000 truckers have notified organizers of their intention to join the protest.

There has been at least some conflict with police officers.

The Virginia State Police pulled over four commercial vehicles on I-495, which were slowing traffic to 15 miles per hour. 

“No summons/ticket was issued,” police said in a statement. “The tractor-trailers were then allowed to proceed on their way.”

In a dial-in phone conference, trucker General Lee (Ernest Lee) of Bullhead City, Arizona–one of the on-the-ground organizers–said it’s unclear how many truckers are out on the road.

“This is the first movement,” Lacovara said. “I would be making up a number if I guessed how many trucks are out here. I can just tell you we have a healthy group and an even healthier group on the way.”

Pictures posted to Facebook and Twitter show at least dozens of more truckers gathering at points across the country and headed to Washington, D.C. 

The strike, or protest, is supposed to run through Sunday night, and could potentially disrupt traffic in the D.C. area this weekend.

People on the group’s Facebook page voiced their support.

“To the ‘nay-sayers,’ even of ONLY 2 trucks show up for their beliefs, its admirable,” said Carrie Kordes. “More of us NEED to stand for what we believe in. Right or wrong, left or right, get mad or get glad. Have a purpose! Make your voice heard!”

“To all trolls who love screaming fail,, think on this. It is a 3 day event. It takes GUTS with GRIT to get the ball rolling,” said Jeff Blackburn. “ This is the begining. irf this does fail WE WILL regroup, rally the troops until we are heard, and actions on the hill PROVE IT !!!”

Story developing; check back for updates

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