Wayne council set to outlaw loud truck brakes
Proposed ordinance would target five roads
By: Philip DeVencenitis
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
WAYNE - The Township council is considering a new ban on loud engine brakes that are typically used by drivers of diesel-powered trucks.
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The introduced ordinance, slated for council approval on August 19, [2026] would target five roads where officials have heard the offensive breaking sounds: Alps Road, between Maple Avenue and Route 23 north; French Hill Road, between Alps Road and Parish Drive; and the entire length of Maple Avenue, Parish Drive to Ratzer Road.
..... Council am Joseph Scuralli said he proposed the ordinance after be noticed trick drivers suing engine breaks in the 4th Ward, which he represents.
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The ordinance excludes emergency vehicles, such as ambulances, firetrucks, and police cruisers. it would amend an existing restitution on engine brakes that was passed a decade ago.
..... Four roads were part of the original ban, sponsored by Councilman Richard Jaskerzbski, of the 1st Ward, in May 2016. Three more streets - central Avenue, Olham Road and Preakness Avenue -were later added.
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Heavy trucks are a familiar sight in the township due to the Braen Stone Indus tires basalt quarry just over the border in Haldon, which passed its won ban on engine breaking October 2020.
..... Experts in engine design, like Cummins Incorporated, argue that the practice helps to reduce wear and tear.
..... The Fortune 500 company from Columbus, Indiana, says an engine brake alters the operation of exhaust valves, so that an engine works as a "power-absorbing air compressor."
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"This provides a retarding, or slowing, action to the vehicle's wheels, enabling improve vehicle control, without using service brakes," the company states on its website. The effect is a lower cost of ownership, it states.
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In April 2022, Cummins acquired Jacobs Vehicle Systems Incorporated, of Bloomfield, Connecticut, the first company to manufacture and sell engine brakes, resulting in the widely used term of Jake Brake, now a registered trademark.