Lake Stevens puts brakes on noise

Published 11:22 pm Sunday, February 24, 2008

LAKE STEVENS — Before long, people who live along Highway 9 and Highway 92 in Lake Stevens could notice a difference in the noise level.

Spurred by complaints, the City Council voted unanimously recently to ban the use of compression brakes by trucks within city limits. The vote was a preliminary step, with a second and final vote expected in early March.

Compression braking, also called “jake” braking, uses the internal compression of the engine to slow down big rigs. Lake Stevens Police Chief Randy Celori told the City Council and Mayor Vern Little last Monday that it’s usually only needed on roads with steep grades.

“With our roadways I don’t think it’s necessary,” Celori said.

Compression braking can create a great deal of noise without a muffler on the truck engine’s intake manifold, he wrote in a memo to the council.

“Anecdotally, it sounds similar to a jackhammer; however, the loudness is between 10 and 20 times the perceived loudness of a jackhammer,” he wrote.

Numerous other cities have banned the use of unmuffled compression brakes, Celori said. Marysville prohibits them on certain streets, he said.

The fine for a violation would be $124 for a first offense, doubling for a second offense within a year and escalating to a criminal misdemeanor for a third.

The city would take steps to let trucking companies and organizations know about the new law, officials said.

Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.