November 15, 2023 |
Photo – No Jake Brake sign – Courtesy customproducts.com
Medicine Bow passed on first reading an ordinance that bans the use of engine brakes in the town.
Medicine Bow sits at the intersection of two state highways often used by over-the-road haulers. Semi-trucks moving at highway speeds must quickly slow down to 30 miles per hour before reaching town limits. To reduce speed, heavy trucks use engine brakes, also known as Jake brakes. The devices create stopping power by producing back pressure in the motor to slow down the vehicle. Engine brakes also cause the truck’s engine to rev loudly.
Residents in the town have complained that the use of engine brakes by truck drivers was creating loud disturbances in the otherwise quiet community.
During Monday night’s Medicine Bow town council meeting, an ordinance was presented to ban the use of engine brakes within the town. Attorney Cameron Smith read the proposed municipal code.
Town Attorney Smith said he modeled the Medicine Bow engine brake ban off a similar regulation used in the town of Sundance.
Attorney Smith said the new ordinance will allow the use of an engine brake in emergency situations. The town attorney said slowing down to the speed limit does not constitute an emergency.
Attorney Smith said failure to abide by the new engine brake ban will result in a punishment established in the town’s existing Violations and Penalties municipal code. The regulation states that anyone found guilty of violating the town’s ordinances is subject to a maximum fine of $750. Smith said the ordinance change requires three readings before being officially adopted.
The council unanimously voted to accept the new engine brake prohibition ordinance on the first reading. The regulation requires two more readings at two separate public meetings before being formally added to the Medicine Bow municipal code.
