Elvis once sang passionately about his blue suede shoes. He didn’t mind being knocked down, having his face stepped on, his name slandered all over the place, his house burnt down, his car stolen and his liquor being gulped down from an old fruit jar, as long as his blue suede shoes remained intact. “Do anything that you wanna do, but uh-uh honey lay off my shoes,” Elvis sang.

Somehow the recent wave of protests by truck drivers and jeep owners in Iceland reminded me of that song. I was discussing their actions with my colleague, who said: “It’s funny how Icelanders will accept anything. When the welfare of their children and old relatives is at stake, they just mumble something in protest and that’s it. But when it comes to their cars, all hell breaks loose.”

That is so true. Like Elvis cared for his blue suede shoes more than anything, Icelanders love their cars. They love being able to drive their shiny new SUVs and monster jeeps wherever they need to go (rarely outside city limits), even the shortest of distances. They may hardly be able to afford the monthly down payment of the car loan they took or all the gasoline these status symbols require, but who cares? Many considered such cars an absolute necessity.

But now fuel prices are skyrocketing, which means that many car owners will have to change their lifestyles to make ends meet. The world market price of oil continues to rise, the ISK is depreciating while the USD is appreciating, and the Icelandic state claims its percentage (which truckers say is unfairly high) of every liter of fuel sold, now priced at around ISK 150 (USD 2.0, EUR 1.28).

In protest, truck drivers and jeep owners have blocked the main traffic veins during rush hour in Reykjavík and the greater capital region day after day for one week now, honked their horns and organized demonstrations outside the Althingi parliament, where they handed in their demands on Tuesday. 

People are stuck in traffic for hours and cannot make it to work on time and yesterday some travelers on their way to Keflavík International Airport were late for their flights. People who tried to drive around the wall of trucks were stopped by protestors who lay down on the ground, like human speed bumps, forcing them to stop. Emergency services have warned that such protests can prove dangerous if fire trucks and ambulances, who were not notified beforehand, get stuck in the middle of a traffic jam caused by truckers. The trucker drivers’ spokesman, Sturla Jónsson, has, however, dismissed such concerns as “fear propaganda.”

Professional drivers are also protesting other conditions, like regulations on when and how they should rest. 

I’m certain that the truckers’ situation could and should be improved, and Minister of Transport Kristján Möller has already announced that he is willing to discuss it. Parliamentary speaker Sturla Bödvarsson has also accepted written demands given to him by truck drivers. So they’ve made their point, fair enough—but now they’re just showing off.

Yesterday morning I walked past trucks blocking traffic on Kringlumýrarbraut at the intersection with Miklabraut, the busiest intersection in the country. As a pedestrian, I was able to pass them by, but drivers remained stuck in their cars. I sympathized with them and not so much with the truck drivers anymore. Truckers say they don’t want to bother the public with their actions, though they obviously are, and that other drivers should also object to higher gas prices.

Maybe the government shouldn’t have such high tariffs on gas, but maybe the public shouldn’t buy so much fossil fuel either. Maybe this is the perfect opportunity for people to reflect on their lifestyles and ask themselves: Do I need to drive so much? Should I buy a car which uses a different type of energy? The time of peak oil is near and we will be forced to find other reliable energy sources. Not to mention global warming and our obligation to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

Authorities may have high tariffs on fossil fuels (the tariffs on cigarettes are also high, which they should be as they are polluting and health hazards), but they also encourage the use of less-polluting energy. Recently Reykjavík City offered owners of electric cars free parking and free electricity in the city center and students can ride the bus (some of which run on hydrogen) at no charge. The city’s garbage trucks run on methane gas which they produce themselves.

On the cover of Morgunbladid daily yesterday was a picture of a cyclist who triumphantly surpassed all the cars that were stuck in traffic because of the truck drivers’ protests.

We should do the same, bring out our bikes, use our legs and ignore the honking trucks. And then use our energy to protest the low salaries of nurses, teachers, kindergarten teachers and caretakers for the elderly to make sure that we prioritize the welfare of our people above our cars.

ESA – eyglo@icelandreview.com