According to the adage, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. In Shane Olson’s case, he wants quiet and a night of uninterrupted sleep rather than grease. After another visit with the county board of supervisors, Olson may finally get what he asked for the first time – an ordinance banning unmuffled engine brakes.
Olson has met with the supervisors several times this summer about the noise at the intersection where he lives at Highway 4 and County Road P-29 eight miles north of Jefferson. Highway 4 curves sharply to become an east-west road headed toward Churdan, while P-29 continues north. There is a stop sign for southbound traffic on P-29 as it approaches southbound Highway 4. According to Olson, the truck traffic on P-29 has increased significantly since he purchased his home a few years ago, and the roar of jake brakes has become more of a problem.
He first met with the supervisors in June to request a countywide ordinance against the brakes. After much discussion, the supervisors a week ago approved posting signs reading “No unmuffled engine brakes allowed.” The supervisors hoped the signs would be a deterrent even without an enforcing ordinance.
Olson was at the supervisors meeting again July 27 to let them know the signs aren’t working. After discussing how word would spread among truckers if a few citations were written, the supervisors asked auditor Jane Heun to research ordinances in other counties. Olson reminded them he had provided them with those ordinances weeks ago, and later in the meeting, the supervisors found those copies on their large desk and passed them around for review.
Sheriff Steve Haupert supports adopting an ordinance similar to the Webster County ordinance, a rather general statement that doesn’t provide loopholes and sets penalties for violations.
John Muir, chair of the board of supervisors, initially opposed an engine brake ordinance. He was reluctant to ban them for the entire county because many farmers have vehicles with unmuffled brakes, but he was also reluctant to ban them only in specific parts of the county. He now supports a countywide ban, but said Monday, “I hate having to regulate common sense.”
The board will have an ordinance to approve sometime in early August, according to auditor Jane Heun.
