High Diesel Prices Hurting Truck Drivers

If you haven't been paying attention to gas prices at the pump, diesel truck drivers sure have. That is because their fuel has been at record high prices for more than two weeks.

News On 6 reporter Stacey Cameron reports diesel prices have gone up 18 of the past 19 days and that has truckers feeling pretty low.

Driving a tractor-trailer truck and hauling freight for five years, Roy Stocker is use to carrying a heavy load.   Stocker has been dealing with a heavy load recently in the form of high diesel prices. He says diesel prices are going to start hurting regular folks too.

"Fuel prices keep going up, which means products going to go up so it's just going to hurt everybody," said Roy Stocker.

So according to Stocker, everyone is going to start paying more for the groceries big rigs haul, unless diesel prices go down.

Darin Bentley's worked as a long hauling truck driver for over twenty years, and he agrees with Stocker.

But while Stocker is driving his truck, Bentley's rig is staying put at the truck stop.

"Sittin' because I can't afford the fuel," Bentley said.

And if you listen to Bentley, he isn't alone in parking his truck. Bentley said if diesel prices don't fall, independent truckers are talking about a nationwide driver's strike.

"Twenty million truck drivers out there go on a strike; the economy will go to a complete crash," Bentley said.

Will truckers strike? That remains to be seen.

But seeing how $600 of diesel fuel only lasts about two days, it's easy to understand a tractor-trailer truck driver's frustration.