by Leah Justice
Leah.Justice@tryondailybulletin.com

After hearing from several residents who told of the dangers of truckers engaging Jake brakes, or unmuffled engine brakes, near horseback riding, Polk County Commissioners are considering an ordinance.

Commissioners met Monday, Jan. 5 and decided to direct the planning board to draft an ordinance against Jake brakes in certain areas and to work with the N.C. Department of Transportation (DOT) on signage.

Susan Arcularius, DiLee Worden, Kathy Meli, Bonnie Hines and Tom Warden spoke about the dangers and loud noises of Jake brakes.

DiLee Worden said she and a friend were horseback riding recently when a logging truck went by at a high rate of speed as well as a cement truck. She said while the horses are used to traffic and they were probably 20 ft. off the road, when the Jake brakes were engaged it spooked her horse.

“We both could have been seriously injured because of this stunt,” DiLee Worden said.

And that was not the only time this has happened, she said.

“Sometimes they don’t use the brakes until they are right on you,” she said.

She mentioned that the City of Landrum has an ordinance against Jake brakes and the brakes wouldn’t be needed at all by truckers if they weren’t traveling at such a high rate of speed. She said she and others can hear the brakes while inside their homes with the doors and windows closed.

Meli said more trail crossing signs are needed and some of them need to be placed further back. Meli said she would also like to see the 35 mph sign sooner so trucks can be prepared for curves along Hwy. 9.

Hines said she is a horse rider as well and has had the same experiences where truckers use the Jake brakes and it startles the horses.

“It’s a danger and it’s not necessary,” Hines told commissioners.

Tom Worden said he and his wife moved to Polk County primarily because of the unique equestrian environment and is impressed with the respect drivers, neighbors and people in the community have for the equestrian community. He offered some suggestions, including the 35 mph sign be placed further away from the curve on Landrum Road as well as on Peniel and Collinsville roads.

Tom Warden also suggested the speed limit be only 35 mph and he would prefer the Jake brakes be banned, adding that if the speed limit was 35 mph on Landrum, Collinsville and Peniel roads it would make a tremendous improvement on both noise and safety.

“The equestrian community is not only here now but will be growing exponentially in the future,” Tom Worden said.

Commissioner chair Tom Pack first clarified who is responsible for speed limits. Pack said the county doesn’t regulate speed limits, the DOT does. Polk County can request changes to speed limits, Pack said, but can’t mandate a change.

Commissioner Ray Gasperson placed the Jake brake item on Monday’s agenda saying DiLee Worden was the first to contact him with a petition. As of Tuesday, there was a petition requesting unmuffled braking be banned from the horse trail crossing areas of Landrum, Peniel and Collinsville roads and Hwy. 9 South (near horse park area) and better signage for the CETA and FETA crossings.

“The sound of this ‘braking’ is not only extremely loud and intrusive (we hear it inside our homes), but also very dangerous when riding a horse across the designated horse trail crossings over these roads or even beside the road,” states the petition.

And example of better signage included “Caution-reduce speed,” with the signs facing both directions, according to the petition. As of Tuesday, Jan. 6, the petition had 79 signatures, with those speaking saying they would have gotten many more signatures had they had more time.

Both Gasperson and county attorney Jana Berg said they have been in contact with district engineer Steve Cannon with the DOT, who indicated if Polk County compiled a list of where signs need to be and paid for the signs they would look favorably on placing the signs.

“As I understood from our conversation there was a recent incident in which a logging truck used an unmuffled engine brake and in doing so a nearby horse was startled and nearly threw the rider from the horse,” Cannon said in an email to Berg.

Cannon also said the DOT recently established a draft policy on signs prohibiting the use of unmuffled engine compression brakes. He suggested Polk County submit a list of locations where they propose to have signs installed and he or someone else from the traffic department will further review the request.

Berg said if there is an ordinance against the braking in certain areas, the sheriff’s office could write citations to those who violate the ordinance and people could also write down license plate numbers of trucks who violate the ordinance to turn into the sheriff’s office.

Pack said he would like to take it a little further and send a request to the county planner to set up a formal process to request signage to be forwarded to the DOT. Pack said that would make it a formal process and the county would have a list of those crossings.

Gasperson added that the county likely needs more trail crossing signs in Pea Ridge with new trails being established there.

The ordinance against Jake braking will include that it will be illegal to use the brakes where there’s trail crossing signage.

Commissioners said the attorney and sheriff should send recommendations to the planning board to ensure the ordinance can be enforced.