Truck Emissions and Local Torture

I know what your saying. As a trucker I live a little ways off a US Hwy and I hear the similar things you do at all hours of the nights. I hate to call my fellow truckers inconsidirate but they are.
I do see alot of drivers zipping through my small town at night.
I seen alot of unexplainable stuff by truckers.
But if I may, there are a few out there that repsect the law. And those are the true drivers.
As the old saying goes, when the cats away, the mice will play. And I've caught myself a few times doing something stupid, like clipping trough a town late at night. But rest assured I do correct myself imediately.
Your post does bring up a valid point, show some repsect. If it's late night and there's a town, turn off the jake brake even if there's no sign, people may be sleeping, even in the day if they work nights. Slow down, even if the town is 2 blocks long, you never know who may be ready to jump out into the street, and so on and so forth.
Those that do roll through your town with respect, those are Profesional Truckers. The others are idiots.

 

Nice post Dragon, you're right, we need to be professional. And do those things that show we are pros, like shutting off the Jake at night.
I used to run between detroit and Indy every night, so I 'd usually take US24, and pass thru antwerp,OH. And even though the town has only two lights and is maybe a mile long, there was almost always a cop watching for truckers/cars driving badly (or drunk,etc).Plus its just common courtesy.

 

To get the attention of the mean and nasty truckers who have invaded your normally quiet, serene, little town you must hit them where it hurts. Get in their pockets. You, and your fellow citizens should boycott trucks. That's right! Refuse to purchase anything that was hauled in a truck. Send a message to the grocery stores, the furniture stores, the hardware stores, and the clothing stores that you and your like-minded group of anti-truckers will not purchase any of their goods if they continue to allow these products to be hauled by trucks. What were they thinking, anyway? When this catches on, you should be able to sleep comfortable again without the noisy rumble of trucks bringing commerce to your community.

With that said, I do agree, we truckers should do our jobs as quietly as possible. This is especially true when we're required to operate within the confines of a town, or near residential areas.

I'm getting visions of a log hauling truck, probably with a pre-emissions (and still perfectly legal) engine, bellowing down the street. I can't offer much solice if you're living with that in your backyard. They're just plain noisy to begin with and many of their operators like the attention they get when your china rattles off the shelf. Beyond that mentality, 99.9% of the current crop of trucks and truckers are reasonably quite and easy to live around. Try not to get your fur up at the mere sight of a truck. They are helpful and usually more of a blessing than a blister. :smt023

 

• As a trucker, what would you do? Post signs at a local truck stop?

Well, this or simply just need to have DOT start enforcing this a little more, I personally don't like the ideal of having law enforcement involved with trucking more but it is something that needs to be addressed

• How would you as a trucker inform that there is truly fines for this stuff and even jail time?

I think sign, perhaps a few legal memos above the urinals a truck stop ext..

• How would you stop it as friendly as possible, long after it is clearly a stampede by the dozens of truckers who truly believe they can get away with it?

Well no real answer to this, they simply think they are cool by having it crackle like that. what can you say to people like that.

• How do give them the explanation of importance of this wrongdoing ..bluntly..

I personal just say I sure would appreciate you turinng that Jake off, and of coarse I get the typical Go **** yourself response.

I think anybody would get that response, hurt them where it counts i guess. The pocket book





Now unfortantly things like this effect everybody, give truckers a bad name. Its one thing to forget you had it on (I'v done that a few times, but once I relized i turned it off) but the ones who just dont have any type of muffler and the guys who run threw the truckstop parking lot with a jake on, just obviously don't care and like i said, going to make more laws put on us and add more restrictions cuase a few bad apples.

 

ok, my truck is quite, but some i have driven havent been.
i had an entire town (ok subburb) thinking of getting an anti engine brake law.....no fualt of my own mind you
the truck was an older western star and its owner had put 8inch stacks on with no muffler....now when the local dot finally got me....the truck was pronounced legal as it did still have the silencer...but it was load no matter what you did....accelerate and it rumble, decelerate and itd rumble...and if u did use the jakes you couldnt hear the radio
so some of it its the drivers, it was just a load LEGAL truck

 

Do not ban Jake Breaking as a city ordinace they are a device for safety assisting us in stoping the truck, besides Jake Brakes are built standard with mufflers and they are no louder than our engin when the truck comes out of the factory.

its, people who take the mufflers off or what ever to make them rumble that should be banned and i see some towns get it, they post signs warning against using UnMuffled Jake brakes, engin retarders, engine brakes...

and beyond that its the fault of your local police they could make a lot of money off these Truckers who have them, and i would keep ticketing repeat offenders if they want to learn the hard way, and include a Fine that Goes Directly to the Company that owns the truck if its not a Owner operator

 

Here's my two cents: one, if you live next to a major highway/freeway, you have to expect to listen to traffic. I hate driving ON A FREEWAY and seeing signs that say "No Engine Brakes" just because some morons in the neighborhood next to the freeway decided to petition their city council.

That said, you're right on all counts. Drivers shouldn't be running our engine brakes/retarders through town in the middle of the night, we shouldn't be running over the speed limit on small roads, and we should be considerate of the people we're passing by. I try to do all of these things.

I think the answer to your problem is to both put up signs (both on the road and at the local truck stops) to ask for the drivers' help and to ask law enforcement to get stricter about their enforcement of these laws.

On the other hand, have some consideration for us too. If your town has a 2-mile, 6% grade hill coming into it where we're expected to slow from 55mph to 30mph (or worse, for a stop light), you're going to have us running our engine brakes to make that drop no matter what you try to do. I'm not going to light my brakes on fire, ruin $2,000 worth of tires, and possibly kill several people just to make your road quieter for you. I'm sure you'd rather listen to my engine brakes (which are muffled, thank you) than have my 80,000 pound rig, with flaming tires, come flying into your living room.