Rumors of protesting truckers have been running rampant across the country during the past week, but those rumors became reality for some California truckers on Friday, Aug. 19.

Several news sources in California reported that a group of truckers formed a convoy and drove through Santa Maria to protest the rising cost of diesel fuel.

While some media outlets reported the number of protesting trucks in the dozens, Sgt. Richard Flores of the Santa Maria Police Department put the number between 12 and 15 rigs total. The truckers reportedly were blowing their horns as they drove through the downtown area.

Flores said the police heard the rigs coming and that the noise was loud enough to bring several judges out of the courthouse in the middle of legal proceedings.

Flores said several citations were issued for noise violations.

Prices for diesel in California have been above the $3 mark for the last week and a half. The highest price found Monday, Aug. 22, according to CaliforniaGasPrices.com, was $3.39 per gallon at a Shell station in Fairway, CA.

The American Automobile Association reported an average price in the state of $3.16 per gallon on Aug. 22, while ProMiles showed an average of $3.02.

Most of the major truck stop companies had prices just under $3 per gallon at their California locations, according to their Web sites. Pilot was the exception, posting $3.079 per gallon at their facility in Salinas .