Motorists might want to avoid I-465 before lunchtime on Thursday, February
21st. Area semi-truck drivers are planning a slow-roll convoy to protest
federal regulations.
Indiana State Police say they will monitor the protest set to start around
11:00 AM. Up to 500 truckers plan to make two counter-clockwise loops
around Indianapolis. “We do not expect this event to cause major
issues, they have already done this in other cities,” ISP spokesman
Sgt. John Perrine said, noting more officers will deploy to the area if
it is necessary.
Amber Furry, who is helping organize the slow-roll, said semi-truck drivers
are upset that they have to use a federally mandated electronic tracking
system that keeps track of their hours on the road. The regulations were
implemented in 2017. “This doesn’t just affect the truck drivers,
it affects the public as well, because they are on the interstates with
them, with their families,” Furry added. “These regulations
were supposed to save lives, not take them.”
Furry, who said they have gotten a permit from the Indiana State Police
for the protest, said when the slow roll around I-465 starts you can expect the
semi-trucks to be going in convoys at about 45 to 50 miles per hour, which is 5 to
10 miles an hour below the speed limit on the interstate. Traveling at
45 mph, it would take about 2 hours and 20 minutes to circle all of I-465 twice.
Similar protests earlier this month drew 10 to 15 semi-trucks in Dallas,
Texas and more than a dozen semi-trucks along I-57 in Illinois, according
to news reports.
“They have told us they will obey traffic laws, they will no occupy
the left lane and they will try to leave enough gaps between the trucks
to allow traffic to safely merge on and off the interstate,” Sgt.
John Perrine said.
