hi to all,
i've lived along a highway for quite some time now and been noticing a greater amount of noise increasing yearly. people have told me the j-brakes is a safety item added onto the trucks. my beef is, why do they use it around residential areas? i know in some cities, there are bylaws against of usage of j-brakes. good for them! i live in the boonies along the highway among other neighbours and enjoying outdoor living has become very irratating! doesn't the truckers know the amount of noise they create especially at highway speeds? can they be more considerate for the general public? it would be nice to have bylaws for our out of town folks! if your thinking i live in a hilly area, no i'm not. just a slight grade around a corner. they're some truckers not using the j-brakes but they're are only a hand full. meaning they're a lot of speeding ones!!!!
just had to vent out,
ivanhoe

Allow me to try to answer your questions as best as I can.

1. A driver using a Jake Brake doesn't necessarily mean he is speeding.

2. Use of a Jake brake means you use your brakes much less.

3. Why did you move so close to the highway?

4. Jake brake laws are band aids that are dangerous to the sensitive people who live near highways.

Here is the deal. I run my jakes to save my brakes. It is that simple. I will not run my jakes in residential area, or the truckstop or anywhere I might wake somebody UNLESS there is a safety reason for doing so. On the highway I will run my Jakes even when there is a law against doing so. I do this for safety reasons. My safety as well as yours. If your wife, or child were to pull out in front of me, wouldn't you want fresh, cool brakes as well as an engine brake helping me to stop or slow enought to avoid them?

Yes, they are noisy and some are louder then others (un-muffled trucks) but they are a safety device and serve a very good purpose. The law should NOT discourage the use of Jake brakes and the enforement should go towards un-muffled trucks. That is your real issue.

I grew up 100 feet from BNSF main line between Chicago and LA. Believe me, you can learn to sleep through anything.

Your question reminds me of one of my nieghbors when I was a kid. He was always writing Burlington Northern and the local papers complaining about the train blowing its horn through the crossing next to his house. 10 years later they closed the closing. The trains still (to this day) blow thier horns when on approaching the old crossing.

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The jakes (engine brake) are designed to slow the truck but not to stop the truck. This principle a few drivers do not make a connection with and the laws or ordnances are written to address these people.

I am with kc0rey in that I rarely use my jake, or retarder, in a residencial area unless I need the extra braking power. When in mountain driving and on down hill grades I have them on to keep the brakes from heating up, when you rolling 80,000 pounds it does not take much to heat the barakes up to the point were they are smoking and when the brakes start are hot the stopping power is vastly deminished and can be to the point were they are useless.

I also live in a rural area and the highway is a major route for logging trucks, so I can sympathise with you, I can be woken up with something as little as a neibor slaming a door or sleeping through an earthquake.

The best advice I can give you is either go with better sound proofing or lern to live with the extra noise...

Why did you move so close to the highway?
i was here before jake brakes was invented or put to use in this area!
when i drive and need to slow down some, i let go of the gas pedal some. i gather jake brakes work the same way or is it by pulling a lever? anyhow, i still say thumbs down on the system. not for the safety aspect of it but poor execution on the sound part of it!!!
ivanhoe

The engine brake is a device that holds the exhaust valves open upon release of the go pedal, allowing the compression of the engine to escape, consequentially slowing it. There are 2 switches that control it. One is on and off. The other regulates the braking power via the number of cylinders. For ex. hi-power controls all 6 cylinders.

It's the guys running straight pipes that are most of the problem you describe. Straight pipes obviously have no baffles, and while this may increase horsepower due to reduced backpressure, things will now be very noisy. A truck running straight pipes riding his engine brake can be heard for miles.

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Z-Lady's devoted hubby.

Oh but that is such a sweeeeeet sound.

Now it's my turn to vent.

I have NO sympathy for the guy if he's one of those who deliberately decides to build a house and live next to an interstate highway, and THEN complain about the noise! There's nothing worse than whiners who do that, knowing full well that the highway is there, and then start demanding that 50' walls be built.

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Z-Lady's devoted hubby.

noise pollution is what i call it! poor wildlife, human devastation at it's best. i sure know where why next home will be. too bad i found out the hard way.
ivanhoe

If it wasn't for those loud noisy trucks grunting down your highway you would be out killing your own wildlife for food; that you go out to the super market every day to fill your cup boards sir.

Think about that for a moment"" before you place judgment on all of us hard working truckers moving the products through out America so you can eat & keep your tummy full.

I suggest you move to the a desert location and try a nice juicy jack rabbit if you can't handle a minor --but very pleasant noise!

Are you a Man or a Mouse ??

Semper Fi

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When it absolutley-- positively needs to be destroyed overnight.......USMC: Deliver !!

Semper Fi

I apolgize for those stupid comments I posted > about the desert and jack rabbits.......I take that back and shut my mouth.

Take care everyone & God Bless

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When it absolutley-- positively needs to be destroyed overnight.......USMC: Deliver !!

Semper Fi