Truck drivers will no longer be allowed to use engine brakes within Athens City limits, council members decided unanimously at last night's meeting.
Engine breaks, the special brakes truck drivers use on hills, are illegal in many small hilly towns because of the loud, machine gun-like noise they make.
"As these big trucks come into town and down that hill and use those things, it just rattles our windows day and night," said Fred Weber, whose letter to council member Carol Patterson, D-2nd ward, prompted the ordinance. Weber lives on Blackburn Road, less than a block from U.S. Route 50.
Several causes may contribute to the increase in noise from trucks, including new highway renovations of U.S. Route 33 East.
"I think it's becoming more frequent, and it's probably because of the increased traffic," said Weber, who has been an Athens resident for 63 years.
Engine brakes are helpful for truck drivers because they stop or slow the truck on long trips without drivers touching the brake pedal. When the engine brake is turned on, it prevents the driver from going above the set speed or speeding up on downhill stretches' much like cruise control regulates speed in a car.
"It actually turns the engine into a brake," said Dean Osborne, owner of Osborne Equipment Service, a Jackson trucks, parts and service firm. The engine brake works by shutting down power to the engine, so that compression holds the truck back, separate from primary brakes.
In cities where engine brakes are illegal, truckers simply turn them off. But in cities like Athens, they leave them on to prevent speeding, Osborne said.
"They've been up all hours of the night," Osborne said. "They do this to keep from getting busted."
Though most engine break noise comes from the hilly highway entrances to the city, the brakes also are a problem on Richland Avenue and Uptown, Patterson said.
On Richland Avenue the speed limit changes from 55 mph to 25 mph and drivers generally do not slow down immediately unless the traffic light is red, she said. Many residents living near Richland Avenue are affected.
Emergency vehicles will be exempt from this rule, and no driver will be ticketed for using engine breaks in a life-threatening situation, such as adverse weather conditions, Patterson said.
"If the road is wet, it will work better than brakes," Osborne said
But he does not expect the ordinance to be a severe inconvenience or safety hazard for drivers, who are often just playing with the brakes in town or not bothering to turn them off.
The funds will come from the streets department budget and should be ready by the time the ordinance goes into effect in 30 days, Patterson said.
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Elizabeth Goussetis
