Truck association empathizes with truckers

NASHVILLE, April 1 (UPI) -- Truckers protesting fuel costs had sympathy, but no endorsement, from the National Association of Small Trucking Companies, the organization said.

"Every time something like this has happened, very little good has come out of it," David Owen president of the National Association of Small Trucking Companies told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"The people that get hurt the worst are the people who chose to participate," he said.

Owen said he understood why truckers were protesting, telling the newspaper, "I'm all for bringing up the level of public awareness."

But "they need to bring their concerns to Washington, not Atlanta," Owen said, reacting to news a convoy of 18-wheel trucks were planning to converge on Georgia's capital.

Protests were planned around the nation, as truckers vowed to drive slow to stall traffic or pull off to the side of the road Tuesday.

But not all truckers joined in. Bobby Reeves, owner of RRR Transportation, a fleet of 38 trucks in Gordon County, Ga., told the Journal-Constitution, "I've got $100,000 in bills. It's not going to do me any good to not work."