DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: A caravan of truckers is rolling into Washington, D.C. today to protest the rising cost of diesel fuel. The drivers say the demonstration is part of a battle to save their livelihoods. Kathleen Koch is standing by. She has the latest -- Kathleen.</s>KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, the convoy is coming, but the drivers have decided to have mercy on commuters here in the nation's capital, and they'll be arriving now well after rush hour. The big rigs, some 300 strong, are expected to stretch out for about four miles as they head here to Capitol Hill. Truckers want relief, any that they can get, from high diesel fuel prices that have shot up 54 percent over last year. Gasoline prices are up 40 percent, but that's not prompting commuters to give up their sports utility vehicles. However, big rig drivers say that it has simply become, in many cases, too expensive to keep on trucking. Fuel is truckers' biggest out-of-pocket expense, and while some of them are levying fuel surcharges on the loads that they do carry, they say that, in many cases, it's just not enough to completely cover their operating expenses. Now, for example, if you went -- when you -- it cost you $30 to fill up your gasoline tank, now, imagine the sticker shock for truckers when the cost of a tank of fuel has jumped from $220 to $500. Now, for relief, they are asking that Congress remove, completely eliminate, the federal excise tax on diesel fuel, and also consider giving truckers a 15 cent per gallon rebate as long as the fuel prices stay so very high. Now, today's protest is, of course, expected to completely clog traffic downtown here in Washington, but there are further impacts lying down the road if truckers can't get those goods to the stores and prices go up for everyone. Reporting live in Washington, I'm Kathleen Koch.</s>BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Kathleen.
Truckers Roll Into Washington, D.C. to Protest Fuel Prices