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By Guy Page
Senate Transportation Thursday morning took testimony pro and con on S. 66, which creates fines and a ‘citizen reporting system’ by which truck engines and brakes emitting noise above permitted decibel levels can be reported to law enforcement for violations punishable by fines.
Critics of the bill say the violation would be determined by decibel levels, the law raises the possibility of citizens standing on roadsides with decibel meters, visible to truckers, who then would be motivated to go light on the brakes – even in potentially unsafe situations.
A spokesman for the Massachusetts not-for-profit Quiet Communities said noise can lead to diabetes and even death. Also, Greensboro resident Nancy Sullivan complained of the ‘piercing noise’ that makes conversation outdoors impossible.
One former Barre resident said she moved to a quiet part of Berlin because of the occasional procession of touring Harley Davidson motorcyles past her house. “I’m still traumatized by it,” Susan Britto said with tears. “It became unbearable with constant road noise.”
She noted that in other communities, collected fines pay for the enforcement of anti-noise ordinances.
Spokespersons for the trucking industry and businesses reliant on trucks – such as the grocery industry – expressed concern about how the proposed noise restrictions on brakes could limit safety.
Eric Wyson of Wyson Trucking, a Massachusetts firm making deliveries in Vermont, said “I believe the S66 bill would have unintended consequences.” Vermont has a lot of steep hills and limiting the use of brakes could be dangerous, he said.
Jim Kurrle of Bourne’s Energy (heating fuel distributors) said “safe brakes are an essential safety tool” and that “limiting or penalizing their use without considering safety is dangerous…. We should not impose unnecessary regulations that could limit safety.”
Kurrle also advanced concerns about the cumulative impact of over-regulation. “Is Vermont creating another barrier to business that might make them want to operate elsewhere?” Kurrle asked.
The bill’s critics added that the brake inspections required in the bill are redundant (already handled in annual inspections) and also problematic as they require the inspections be performed by techs working for a company’s competitors.
Testifying in opposition were Rob Kidd of the Sierra Club and Karen Akins of Stowe, producer of an anti-noise pollution film called “The Quietest Year.”
No decision was made. “We will be having a discussion in committee,” Sen. Richard Westman (R-Lamoille) said.
Generous heating fuel dealers – the Vermont Fuel Dealers ‘Split the Ticket’ program has delivered 125,000 gallons of fuel at no cost to needy customers since the program’s inception over a decade ago. The heating fuel is delivered as available and as needed on a case-by-case basis, with the VFDA and individual dealers splitting the cost. VFDA funding is derived from donors who want to provide tangible help to needy neighbors at risk.
Rare Disease Advisory Council proposed – A large coalition of Vermont’s health-related advocacy groups are calling on the Legislature to pass H.46, sponsored by Rep. Mary Katherine Stone (D-Burlington), to establish a Rare Disease Advisory Council (RDAC).
A rare disease, as defined by the federal Orphan Drug Act, is any condiction affecting fewer than 200,000 Americans, which collectively afflict an estimated one in 10 Americans, the National Organization for Rare Disorders states. Currently 30 states have enacted an RDAC.
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Categories: State House Spotlight
These flippen snowflakes don’t have anything more dire to devote our tax money to than researching the noise that jake brakes make ? Why are my taxes so high and why is it that my expectations that they will ever be more reasonable a pipe dream ? Vote these dumb____ out !
Perhaps ms. sen.rebecca white is ignorant of the operation of trucks and the limitations she and fellow legislators place on commerce by their ignorance. As an operator of a Class 7 truck ( doubtful that the sponsoring lib senators even know what truck classes are) I will not hesitate to use the engine brake that the truck was equipped with, even in sections of roadway that prohibit the use, by local ordinance. The ability to stop, especially when an automobile operator does some maneuver that requires a fast stop, far outweighs the noise generated by the engine brake. So ms. white, clarkson, watson, gulick, mr. sen. major- each of you is invited to spend a day riding in a large truck, to see firsthand what and why engine brakes are important and necessary equipment on trucks. I’m sure that multiple operators would extend the invite. As usual, you seek to solve an inconvenience for a few, while placing a safety risk and burden on society as a whole.
And perhaps point out all the hills in VT.
Going down hills the jake brake helps to save the brake shoes from over heating and the lose of the trucks ability to stop. It also extends the life of the brake shoes.
Another prissy, pearl-clutching penalty on the real, physical economy. Bankruptcy can’t come soon enough.
I’m traumatized by the sound coming from the State House. Can’t we pass a regulation to quiet them?
Diabetes from jake brakes?? Quick, to the safe space!!
“A spokesman for the Massachusetts not-for-profit Quiet Communities said noise can lead to diabetes and even death”.
Folks, there’s that nasty word again… “can”. Not “does”, not has been proven to”, not “will”… “can”. Be smart. Words matter.
And who are Quiet Communities, anyway? Well, here’s a link to their own website telling all about them:
https://grassrootsfund.org/about-us/our-history
They appear to have a “staff” of only six – count ’em, six. From what I can tell, their purpose seems to be to take in “grants” and then distribute those “grants” to what I’d call “like-minded organizations”, which may or may not include NGOs. Do they reference any scientific studies to back up their claim above? Or ANY of their claims? Not that I could see. Maybe someone else would like to take a deep dive on them and report back.
Likewise, where these “grants” come from was unclear to me. I assume the federal government of course, but what branch? So we’re already getting into DOGE territory here. Because on the face of it, this seems to me to be just like funding “Sesame Street in Iraq”… a total waste of taxpayer dollars.
But yet, the legislature is using Quiet Communities as a reference point to attempt to pass yet another Big Brother draconian bill. All because a couple of moonbats “allegedly” complained. Tell you what… I wish I could get that kind of quick response when I call *my* state senator. THINK, friends!
So according to their *logic*, I suppose we should close down Burlington International Airport and get rid of the National Guard there as well. After all, those noisy jets fly over my house 50 miles away at least twice a year. Frankly, I’m amazed I’ve survived as long as I have. They need to go.
And those rumbling, blaring, toxically masculine freight trains in the valley? Finito! Onward, Comrades; paradise is at hand!
Hear! Hear! It’s about as silly as listening to the people who don’t want to purchase a grave lot within earshot of the interstate because of the traffic noise.
If they don’t like the loud noises now, just wait until all these “income sensitive” multi-million dollar apartments start showing up in everyone’s downtown. All that extra wear and tear on our infrastructure is going to bring 20+ years of constant construction noises, loud Spanish music blasting out of vehicles at all hours of the day, light pollution so we can’t see all the stars in the sky, human feces flowing under the streets into giant pools that flood into our waterways every rainstorm, more airplane and “loud truck noises”, buses full of people driving by your house gawking at you several times per day, homeless drug addicts using up all your local facilities and parking spaces, target practice gun sounds turning into gangster shootout gun sounds, increase in police and ambulance sirens at all hours, domestic disturbance noises, helicopters looking for felons in your backyard noises. It’s coming, the noises are coming!!!
All these good things to come, but leave the damn truckers alone.
why do Vermonters vote these people into office?
Because they are as stupid as they are, or have no concept of what critical thinking is and how to apply it. They have time for this crap, but no time to take of the education situation. This state is a lost cause at this point.
A little secret, just beyween you and me . A lot of these snowflakes are not real Vermonters. Shh !!!
@Patrick… I’m well aware of that. The only snowflakes I like are the ones that come from the sky and then they melt. Now if only the others would melt away.
I guess I should have been specific and addressed my comment to Carla
The conclusion from this article is that these elected officials have no clue on why these engine-brakes are used.
Maybe they need to do a ride along on roads where these are used to slow atruck down and then maybe these sensitive snowflake will understand, Nah they just like complaining about everything they don’t understand or refuse to understand.
Where do we get these people, they are the same ones that move next to a dairy farm and complain is smells like cow S…….T
The states in Debt, and J-brakes are the concern, these type of frivolous bill that cost taxpayers $$, if these bills hopefully fail then the ones who wrote it, needs to pay the state “taxpayer ” back for wasted resources, Vermont needs DOGE to look at our books !!
Wake up people
I really don’t notice loud truck brakes over the loud mufflers on cars and don’t get me started on those motorcycles (thank goodness for the winter relief).
I can put up with a little noise…such as truck-brakes squealing as the defunct wind turbines are carted down Lowell Mountain, Georgia Mountain, and Sheffield Heights piece by piece. Someday. I did a Google search for “Quiet Communities, Massachusetts non-profit, wind turbine noise” and it looks like they are thoroughly ‘green’ and worried about gas-powered leaf blowers rather than the pernicious and noisy monstrosities blighting the above-mentioned formerly quiet locations. President Trump can’t cut off the funds to ALL of these scammers soon enough.
I guarantee you a truck running into the back end of a car, or a house or some other accident caused because they couldn’t stop fast enough without their engine brakes will be a whole lot more traumatic. Also how do you quantize “too loud”? How many decibels, what weighting, at what height and distance. When and how must the meter be calibrated? Even if spelled out, the average person does not have the knowledge to obtain admissible measurements. Anything else is purely subjective.
The engine brake is the only oil lubricated and liquid cooled braking device on a heavy vehicle. It is intended to aid the friction brakes by using engine compression to slow or hold the vehicle from accelerating on a down grade keeping the friction brakes cool so as to be available for any emergency. I have had two incidents where the engine brake has saved the life of a bear . That sound turned them around each time before they became a grease spot on the highway. When turned on it activates as soon as the throttle is released. This is probably the single best safety device on a truck developed in my lifetime.
Brakes do not need to be noisy. Many of them are because someone has monkeyed with the mechanics of the system. In order to sell these vehicles so equipped, as I am told, they have to be compliant in these areas as well as others. The VT DMV folks have the answers on these issues. These are the folks who patrol the state highways as well as the Interstate(s)
and drive the pickup trucks that have huge lettering on the sides DMV. Believe it or not that is their charge.
“”A spokesman for the Massachusetts not-for-profit Quiet Communities said noise can lead to diabetes and even death. Also, Greensboro resident Nancy Sullivan complained of the ‘piercing noise’ that makes conversation outdoors impossible.””
Unbelievable, OK let’s just stop all deliveries to VT, we’d all be starving in a week, except me and a few others, but eventually even me and others. I worked in a loud environment for 42 years even with hearing protection it was loud. I don’t have diabetes, I do this funny thing called getting off my @$$, being active and not eating crap! As to the “death” consequence, I do have it from a reliable source that I AM going to die…someday! I’ll end with WOW, just WOW!!!
The liberal’s have clearly aligned themselves as the party of DEATH. They allowed for four years of open borders causing thousands of deaths to illegal immigrants and American citizens, not to mention 100,000 of deaths anuallly to the influx of fentenayl, 300,000 children missing, and the hundreds of women that have been raped and or murdered. Biden’s reckless policíes that in part got us involved in two wars that is continuing to cause thousands more deaths. In VT our polítican’s are great in creating problems, but fall short of solving any. Their policies have contributed in increased crime, massive drug abuse, an abysmal Education system, a failed climate change policy, Taxing their constituents to a point that is simply unsustainable. Causing an out of controlled homeless rate, just to name a few of the left’s failures. Vermonters need to vote them and their failed policies out of office, or we the citizens will have a unlivable state to call our home. Wake up Vermonter!