Are Truckers Striking in Support of Donald Trump? The Real Story Behind the Hype | Opinion Feb 26, 2024
Depending on how much cable news you consume or how much time you spend on social media, you may have heard about a truck driver boycott happening at the moment. Reports are floating around that a bunch of truck drivers have banded together and pledged to never haul any freight into or out of New York City because a New York judge found Donald Trump guilty of fraud. The only problem with the story? It's nonsense.
Truck drivers (myself included) have been refusing to travel anywhere near New York City long before Donald Trump came into office, and will continue to do so long after he's gone.
Why?
Well, a bunch of reasons, the first being that it is illegal to do so. New York City restricts the overall length of a truck going into the five boroughs to just 55 feet, bumper to bumper. But the typical trailer you see on the interstate is 53 feet, meaning they're already banned from the city. You can apply for a permit to go into the city, but unless you're a local driver in the area, the chances of you going into the area are zilch.
The other reasons there's basically a soft boycott of truckers already in effect when it comes to driving to New York City is that it's a major pain in the ass. Most truck drivers are paid by the mile, not the hour, which means you don't get paid for all those hours you spend sitting in traffic or slogging across whichever bridge is taking you into the city. And God help you if you ever find yourself in New York City, which is chock full of low height clearances, restricted routes, and heavy fines for violations. You really need to know what you're doing before going. And that's just from the perspective of an employee. As a company owner, you have all kinds of extra costs: tolls, permits, higher fuel costs, and even more fines and penalties if the driver you sent in there screws up.
So why all the noise in the press and online about a trucker boycott for Trump?
