BRAKING NEWS: Newton bans ‘Jake braking’ in city limits, signs to follow

Engine braking — or “Jake braking” — has been banned in Newton city limits, despite pleas from one city council member to reconsider the action.

Newton City Council this week passed the ban in a 5-1 vote with Randy Ervin voting “no.” The council member said he understood the theory and reasoning behind the ordinance, acknowledging that engine brakes are likely a nuisance for people who live near major roadways in town. But, to him, it’s unenforceable.

Ervin suggested council should not make ordinances that cannot be supported or properly enforced. Earlier this month, Newton Police Chief Rob Burdess told council members the city has a lot of traffic laws on the books, and enforcement sometimes depends on what citizens are recently complaining to them about.

“We cannot be ordinances on the books that we can’t enforce,” Ervin said.

The proposal to ban engine braking was derived from citizen complaints, too. Burdess said in the Nov. 3 meeting that the police department was called upon to propose a solution. He wasn’t sure if a ban is the solution, but he conceded that signage may deter some of the engine braking and bring more awareness.

“How stringently it’s going to be enforced is another conversation,” Burdess said at the Nov. 3 meeting. “It’s going to be pretty tough to post somebody out by Walmart for 24 hours a day, seven days a week to really hammer down on this when there’s life safety issues that we have to enforce and respond to.”

From the police chief’s perspective, the ban is more of a quality of life issue than a life safety issue. Life safety takes precedent over quality of life, Burdess said.

During the most recent council meeting on Nov. 17, Ervin claimed the ban cannot be enforced and he disliked the idea of establishing ordinances that put police in a rough spot. Council member Stacy Simbro refuted Ervin’s comments and said the ordinance can be enforced; he likened the signage to speed limit signs.

“The words ‘can’t enforce’ are pretty strong,” Simbro said. “I would say, yes, it’s difficult to enforce just like speeding. We have to be there to catch them. Police have to be anywhere to catch people … If you don’t have signs you can’t enforce anything. If we didn’t have speed limit signs you couldn’t enforce anything.”

Other towns in Jasper County prohibit engine braking and have signs notifying commercial truck drivers to not use them. Engine brakes are often used to slow down semi-trucks instead of a traditional braking system. It reduces wear on the braking systems but creates a loud crumbling noise that can disturb residents.

Council Melissa Dalton was torn on her decision. Although she has never driven a truck she knows many people who have. She has heard both sides of the argument and she has heard 25-year truckers say nobody needs to use an engine brake in these areas. Others have said they will still use an engine brake.

“At the end of the day, maybe it will stop some of the unnecessary use of the Jake brakes, so I’m not opposed to voting for it,” she said.

Following the adoption of the ordinance, council later voted 6-0 to set the fine for engine brake violations to $105.