Description
Dump trucks come speeding down 17N only to require excessive use of the engine or Jacobson brake. The result is a near thunderous pulsating noise all day long as the truck cycle through. Not sure if there is a big construction project in Portland but this is really getting ridiculous! Sometimes the trucks come through in groups of three or four...
Most often the solution is to post signage "No Engine Brake"! It's disrupting the peace and tranquility of So. G.
5 Comments
Town Manager's Office, Town of Glastonbury, CT (Registered User)
B Church (Registered User)
Thank you for the quick reply!
A few of the companies in question: T&S, B&M, and GARF - there are more.
Thanks again
Town Manager's Office, Town of Glastonbury, CT (Registered User)
Town Manager's Office, Town of Glastonbury, CT (Registered User)
Hi B Church. I spoke with the traffic enforcement officer in the PD, Sergeant Jeffrey Hodder, and he replied with the info below. He said if this is not helpful and you'd still like to discussI hope this helps!
"I've had several complaints of truck speeding on that stretch of roadway for the last few months. It's clear that construction projects have picked up somewhere to our south and there are a steady stream of tri-axle trucks passing through there during the day. The Glastonbury Police Traffic Unit has been out on Main St on many occasions within the last month or so, and found no evidence of speeding w/regards to the truck traffic. I reviewed the company names the citizen provided but it does not include many other tri-axle trucks passing through or the 'over the road TT Units' I have seen using their exhaust brakes as well.
The second issue revolves around the exhaust braking. I've noticed some trucks on Main St/ RT 17 using the exhaust brakes when traveling south past Stockade Road and headed into So. Glastonbury Center and Northbound, coming down Still Hill entering town center, during speed enforcement activities. I'm guessing that use of the exhaust braking increases when the truck drivers see us out there doing speed enforcement, as the exhaust brake slows them down as most traffic does when they realize there speed is being monitored.
A couple issues come into play with the truck exhaust braking. First, the area he is describing is a State Road. (RT 17). As such, all signs and markings must be approved and competed by the State DOT. Second, CT has no law concerning when a truck can use an exhaust braking system. There have been many proposed bills in the State Legislature to control it but none have been passed b/c the Department of Transportation has concerns with banning Jake brakes due to its impact on a system that is designed to assist trucks in stopping and possibly preventing an accident. So for now in CT, Statutory Authority for the regulation of truck equipment and usage, maximum noise levels, and pollution rests with the CT Dept of Motor Vehicles and the Dept of Energy and Environmental Protection.
The traffic unit will continue to monitor speeding in this area, truck traffic, and passenger car traffic, as we have been doing. If an unusually loud truck passes, it could be stopped for the current muffler requirements in CT Motor Vehicle Laws but in the past few months, none of the trucks I have seen using the exhaust brakes have risen to that level. I hope this helpful!"
csss (Registered User)