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During the past few years, economy of commercial vehicles has increased considerably due to higher engine outputs a+ lower engine speeds together with enhanced fuel economy. However, the average speed of commercial vehicles is not only determined by the speed attainable on level ground and on uphill gradients, but also to a large extent by the speed attainable on downhill gradients, with the latter depending on the available constant braking power. Since the displacement of commercial vehicle engines has not been increased or has even become smaller, their braking power has increased only slightly ot not at all. In order to enhance the overall economy of commercial vehicles, it was therefore necessary to increase the engine braking performance as well since the wheel brakes cannot be used for constant braking and additional systems for continuous operation are very complex.