Delmont approves 'jake brake' ordinance

Delmont residents may not get the “no-jake-brake” signs exactly where they want them, but they will get several installed in the borough.

When residents initially brought complaints to council about trucks using the Jacobs engine brake system, commonly called “jake brakes,” Delmont police Chief T.J. Klobucar had concerns about enforcement, since police cite motorists for violating the state’s Motor Vehicle Code.

State laws, however, require drivers to obey “the instructions of any applicable official traffic-control device,” which will include the jake brake signs borough officials plan to post.

The signs will appear on northbound Route 66 between the Delmont Volunteer Fire Department and a private gravel driveway just north of the Route 66/East Pittsburgh Street intersection; on Athena Drive between Freeport Street and St. John’s Church; and on Manor Road between Herbert Lane and Route 66.

A PennDOT traffic study conceded that jake brakes are a safety device, and recognized there are several areas and grades where their use must be allowed.

But where the signs are installed, they function like a stop sign or any other traffic-control device.

“Now that the traffic study was done, and once the signs go up, we can (initiate) a traffic stop based on a trucker violating the posted signs,” Klobucar said.

Council also received the results of a second PennDOT study requested by the borough in response to resident complaints about the 35 mph speed limit on Manor Road.

The study concluded that the current speed limit should remain, “since it’s consistent with the portions of Manor Road outside the borough, that go all the way down to Route 22,” Councilman Stan Cheyne said.