������ý

May 19, 1999 1:03 PM, EDT

Organizers of a July 5 trucker strike said they have been getting between 20 and 40 inquiries a day from drivers wanting to know more about the planned job action.

Truckers Roy and Randy Powell — with the help of Roy’s wife, Sandy — have spearheaded the nationwide strike effort through a group called Truckers Against Discrimination, which is handling public relations and negotiations for the strike. The group is calling for an end to split speed limits, lane restriction laws and unequal fines for speeding and other traffic violations.

To draw attention to these demands, TAD is asking supporters to park their trucks at noon Central time on July 5 — a date picked to take advantage of truckers already being home for the July 4 holiday. Truckers are asked to stage a nationwide “sit-in” until the demands are met by all 50 states.

Supporters are also being encouraged to tie royal blue ribbons to their truck mirrors as a sign of solidarity.

“The strike could go on for days, possibly weeks,” said Sandy Powell, a former high school chemistry teacher who is now a homemaker and TAD spokeswoman.

Powell said she expects the work stoppage to inconvenience the public so much that pressure will be put on state officials to change the laws.

“If there is immediacy, the wheels of government can spin very rapidly,” she said. “But even if we don’t [get everything we want], the strike would be a success anyway, because it would have drawn attention to the problems truck drivers are facing.”

For the full story, see the May 17 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.