The company that makes this device is Jacobs Manufacturing Company which is out of Bloomfield, Connecticut since 1957.This brake was made for semi-trucks to come down steep grades and be able to control their speeds better without having the mechanical brakes get too hot and quit working or catch on fire. This device was invented by a man named Clessie Lyle Cummins. This device has made highways a lot safer.

This device mounts on, or within, the engine overhead. The way this device works is when the driver flips a switch inside the truck then the timing of the engine exhaust valves changes turning the engine into a large air compressor.

Towns are complaining about the noise instead of looking at safety. Now some Jake Brakes are really loud. If they were really worried about all the noise then what about these teeny boppers driving around with the bass on the car stereo turned up so loud. At 3am they drive by and vibrate windows on a house and waking people up.

So is it really about the noise or are they just wanting to take more of the truck drivers money? I think it is a way that towns can make more money.