WEST GREENWICH, R.I. -- Saying truck tolls will raise the price of everything Rhode Islanders buy, Rhode Island Trucking Association leaders urged voters to dismiss from office any legislator who voted for the tolls.

At a rally Tuesday morning at the TravelCenters of America truck stop at 849 Victory Highway (Route 102) in West Greenwich, RITA President Chris Maxwell told about 30 supporters, many of them politicians and executives of companies that rely on trucks, that tolling is an inefficient way to raise revenue for roads and bridges.

Maxwell said increasing the diesel fuel tax in Rhode Island by 19 cents could raise the necessary funds without causing trucks to avoid the state or sending them onto secondary roads to avoid toll gantries.

Members of the RITA board said after the rally that trucking companies pay taxes based on the number of miles driven in each state. A truck does not escape the tax increase by filling up before entering the state, they explained. Computers record and transmit back to the trucking company the number of miles driven in each state, and the company pays the corresponding taxes every three months.

"This is our chance to really take back our government," said Rep. Sherry Roberts, a Republican who represents parts of Coventry and West Greenwich in the R.I. House. "If your senator or representative voted in favor of these tolls, vote them out," she told the rally.