Talkcdl Trucking Podcast

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 b