The Fuel Cost Crunch in W.Va.

Some 50,000 West Virginia truckers can avoid paying their $1,132.75 annual registration fee for most trucks for two months, in a bid to help them manage rising fuel costs, The Associated Press reports.

Gov. Joe Manchin and the state Division of Motor Vehicles agreed to push back the deadline for those fees from July 1 to Sept. 1, AP reports.

"According to AAA, diesel averages $4.85 a gallon in West Virginia, compared with $4.78 nationally," the article noted.

MetroNews reports that "the idea of the two-month reprieve came from talks the governor had with truckers who drove to the state capitol as part of a protest earlier this year. The governor spoke with the truckers by phone that day and later met with some of them."

MetroNews also reports that "West Virginia has seen its third straight month of motor fuel tax collections below estimates," with one state official commenting that "people are consuming less gasoline and are a little cautious of their driving habits."

The move comes after Vice President Dick Cheney called the proposed suspension of the federal gasoline tax "a false notion," as AP and others reported, during his otherwise notable appearance Monday at the National Press Club.