The Greene County Supervisors are considering how best to establish an engine brake ordinance.

The topic was brought up at this week’s Supervisor meeting in which Shane Olson, a resident, requested the Board do something to prohibit trucks from using their jake-brakes when approaching a controlled intersection by his home.  A jake-brake is part of the braking system that interrupts the engine flow to slow down a vehicle.  When a driver is using this function, it saves on the actual brakes, but it makes a loud sound.

However, the biggest violators are those trucks that do not have mufflers.  Olson pointed out that according to Iowa Code, all vehicles on the roadway must have a muffler.   Supervisor Chair John Muir said Board members want to establish a countywide ordinance against all unmuffled vehicles, while others said they didn’t want to put the burden on local individuals.

“There’s operators that we aren’t having any problems with, and their equipment might be set up the same, they’re just a little more acquainted with the areas and know where they don’t need to use it (or) don’t want to use it.”

Muir talks about how he feels about establishing an ordinance.

“The biggest issue is we’ve got some areas where there’s residences and if we have issues there, we need to figure out some way to regulate it.  I think if we can come up with something countywide-is what I’m leaning towards-but making sure that it’s defined as ‘muffled’ or ‘unmuffled engine brakes.’”

Another issue is how the ordinance would be enforced.  The Supervisors will be meeting with representatives from the local Sheriff’s office and the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Enforcement Division.

A majority of the Supervisors agreed that some kind of ordinance needs to be put in place to curtail problems that area residents are currently dealing with.