Why Do They Do That?

[so lucky]

I live on a state highway, which gets a lot of traffic (for a rural area, at least.)
I get so miffed at the semi drivers who use their jake breaks as they go by. They seem to echo off the houses across the street, and it actually hurts my ears at times.
There is a very slight downgrade going east, and it may be understandable to break if they are going too fast for the gentle curve, but is it necessary to break going west, up hill? With no traffic in front of them? On a straight road?
When I am outside, I feel like I am sitting in the middle of a racetrack. You can't even have a conversation because the trucks are so loud. And the big pick ups are deafening now, too.
It's pretty quiet out there right now, but it's 3:45AM. in 2 hours the race will be on.
I would love to move out somewhere that I only hear a vehicle if it's coming to see me.
End of rant.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I hear you. It's nice being on a private road a half mile from a little used county gravel road, at least until I have to pay for a few loads of gravel. Still it's worth buying a little gravel.

You probably know what Jake brakes are. They are a safety system on those diesel semi's that uses the compression from the diesel engine to slow down or stop. That comes in real handy going down a mountainside and you don't want to overheat your brakes. Using them in regular driving saves wear and tear on regular brakes. I don't think it costs any more in fuel either though I also don't think it saves any fuel.

Why are they so loud? They make different kinds of Jake brakes, some louder than others. A really loud one means the muffler system is not right or maybe the mufflers are missing and it's just straight pipes. A really loud one usually means someone likes to make noise.

 

[digitS']

Could you petition your highway district/county government, So Lucky? There are lots of signs around that say "use of compression brakes prohibited." Why not a couple for your neighborhood?

The other day, I was pointing out to DW how quiet a huge tow truck was sitting beside us at a red light. The truck was one used for towing the "big rigs." Lots of diesel pickups are so loud they rattle my teeth as they go by! Dad's Dodge was never that bad ... I thought my little old Mercedes sounded like a tea kettle coming on to boil .

I don't understand why the consumer is so fired up to have a 5.9 Cummins diesel that makes twice as much noise as a 600cuin Freightliner Tow Truck engine! Unless it's that Bubba wants to make sure his "ride" isn't mistaken for a tea kettle, eh?

Steve

 

[Nyboy]

Sorry your having this problem, any chance of moving? White Plains house is in a city, traffic on my street 24/7 I guess I got use to it.

 

[secuono]

What is 'jake brakes'?

 

[Ridgerunner]

http://www.jacobsvehiclesystems.com/technology/compression-release-brakes/

A very simplistic explanation.

 

[thistlebloom]

I second what Steve said. There are communities around here that prohibit truckers using their jake brakes when passing through.
There are a few recently who even got the trains to quit blasting.
Maybe your neighbors would all be interested in some sort of cooperative effort.

 

[secuono]

Thanks.

Doesn't the train just warn people that it's about to go over a crossing? I would hate to live near a crossing where a train didn't make any noise...

I live 8-9 miles from the train in town, on very cold nights with no one driving, I can hear it in the distance. Pretty cool sound.

I live on a downward hill and a turn, 55 MPH major road. We've gotten used to the noise, easier to get used to than the dog barking. =/
I hear the big trucks, even the smaller ones, press on their brakes about a half mile in either direction as they start going down one of the two steep hills. Can hear every car go over both bridges, too.

I'll have to sit and watch to see what the big trucks do going up hills. I don't think I've heard them make much noise other than press on the gas.

Is it really more noisy than typical? I know a street with a sign that say's "no braking". But they planned the city around the main highway through, houses all over, then shops and then the major highway overpass. Kind of makes no sense not to space things out...

Though, I'm more paranoid about them flipping and hitting my house! House down the road, bit steeper turn, passenger car ran right into the little shed they had. As if they never even started to turn.... =/
Then going the other way past that house, a lady in a no-door jeep fell out. No seat belt on, fiddling with her sandals. I don't get how jeeps can have no doors.

Yup, the noise is last on our minds...

 

[Smart Red]

We used to live on a dead end road. Though we've had people say they drove by our house and didn't stop, we knew they were joshing. That was nice! Quiet! Dark! Scary!

Now we have a moderately busy country road. Except for a couple of teenaged boys up the road who like burning rubber and probably drag racing and a motorcycle or four in the summer, the road is mostly quiet. Besides, we are off the road a bit and have a break of evergreens between the road and ourselves.

Our biggest problem with the road is its distance from McDonald's to the West and McDonald's to the East. We happen to live exactly a meal away from both and our roadside is often littered with bags, wrappers, and cups from one of the stores. That and drinkers who toss their cans along our road. The cleaner we keep the area in nice weather the less people think about trashing it. But during winter, the roadside and snow piles hide our neat, and trash seems to grow overnight.

 

[catjac1975]

Trash from companies really makes me mad. Of course it is the clients that are responsible. The walmart in the next town over creates flying trash for a good mile around it. If I lived it that town I would ask officials to require them put up a fence that catches the trash and then make them clean it up.