Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Get out and push.

There's a sign at the edge of my town that says "USE OF ENGINE BRAKES PROHIBITED" but it's printed in such a way that it looks like drivers can use neither the engine nor the brakes until they leave town.

Marcie, Leesburg, VA, USA

[If you look closely there is an alteration and it begs the question of whether the original sign said 'Use of engines brakes probihited' -Murray]

3 comments:

Cathy said...

very fun, thanks for a good laugh.

Anonymous said...

From wikipedia:
Engine braking is the act of using the energy-requiring compression stroke of the internal combustion engine to dissipate energy and slow down a vehicle. Compression braking is a common legal term for the same mechanism. Large trucks use a device called an exhaust brake to increase the effectiveness of engine braking.

You hear trucks do this as they decelerate, as an assistant to their normal brakes. It's often a loud, rattling puff of air, or a growling sound that lowers in pitch.
This town has outlawed their use as a means of noise control.
Yay.

Unknown said...

Maybe it said before the alteration:

"USE OF ENGINE/BRAKES PROHIBITED"

:)