The Truck Jake Brake – Quiet Helpful Technology?
[caption id="attachment_13981" align="alignright" width="480"] “Jake Brake” Image by Sierra Fournier - Jacobs Vehicle Systems[/caption] The time is 1:30 in the morning. My house is along a small highway that carries moderate traffic at certain times of the day. It is graded slightly for about a tenth of a mile and has a bend in the road a few hundred feet past my home. Trucks constitute perhaps 10% of the traffic. As a truck picks up speed due to the grade and enters a straight-away, the driver may notice that curve in the road. Brakes are quickly applied. Diesel trucks have a special means of slowing down in addition to their ordinary braking system. It is called a Jake brake. This name is now generic, but at one time referred to…