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July 14, 1999 11:35 AM, EDT

The latest attempt at a long-haul trucker strike, which began with a bang July 5, ended with a whimper two days later, as organizers called it quits in the face of general driver indifference.

Truckers Against Discrimination, based in Idaho, had organized the nationwide work stoppage to protest split speed limits, stiffer traffic fines for commercial drivers and lane restrictions. The group had said the strike would continue until every state met all its demands.

But too few drivers ended up parking their trucks to have any impact, organizer Sandy Powell conceded. By noon July 6, it had become clear there was little point in risking drivers’ jobs and costing them money, she said.

“It was never our intent to make a few people poor,” Powell said. “A lot of people who said they would pull over, when it came right down to the wire — for whatever reason — didn’t.”

Powell, who organized the strike with her husband, Roy, and brother-in-law, Randy, said she had no information on how many truckers parked their vehicles the day after the Fourth of July in joining the effort. But they could see early on that support was spotty.

For the full story, see the July 12 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.