TRENTON, N.J. - Independent truckers across the country pulled their rigs off the road and others slowed to a crawl on major highways in a loosely organized protest of high fuel prices.

Some truckers, on CB radios and trucking Web sites, had called for a strike Tuesday to protest the high cost of diesel fuel, saying the action might pressure President Bush to stabilize prices by using the nation's oil reserves. But the protests were scattered because major trucking companies were not on board and there did not appear to be any central coordination.

Donald A. Smith, who operates five trucks out of his business in Greensboro, N.C., said he didn't initially plan to protest prices but now thinks he should make a statement. He thinks oil companies should bear some of the burden of high prices that have stressed his business.

"I'm still treading water, but I don't know how long I can tread water," he said.

On New Jersey's Turnpike, southbound rigs "as far as the eye can see" were moving about 20 mph near Newark, said Turnpike Authority spokesman Joe Orlando. Other truckers had gathered at a service area near Newark chanting and protesting.

Outside Chicago, three truck drivers were ticketed for impeding traffic on Interstate 55, driving three abreast at low speeds, said Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Luis Gutierrez.

Near Florida's Port of Tampa, more than 50 tractor-trailer rigs sat idle as their drivers demanded that contractors pay more to cover their fuel and other costs.

"We can no longer haul their stuff for what they're paying," said David Santiago, 35, a trucker for the past 17 years.

Santiago, like many of the more than 50 truckers gathered on a side street near the Port of Tampa, said he can't support his family on what he makes. "If it wasn't for my wife, we would have been bankrupt already," he said.

Some other truckers, however, didn't join the protests, saying they doubted a strike or mass demonstration would be effective, because trucking companies are not on board and there is no central coordination.

"The oil company is the boss: What are we going to be able to do about it?" said Charles Rotenbarger, 49, a trucker from Columbus, Ohio, who was at a truck stop at Baldwin, Fla., about 20 miles west of Jacksonville.

Jimmy Lowry, 51, of St. Petersburg, Fla., and others said it costs about $1 a mile to drive one of the big rigs, although some companies are offering as little as 87 cents a mile. Diesel cost $4.03 a gallon at the Baldwin truck stop.

If something isn't done about fuel prices, the cost of consumer goods will shoot up, said independent trucker William Gentry. "People aren't seeing that the more we pay, the more they're going to pay," he said.