Index: runs.scm
==================================================================
--- runs.scm
+++ runs.scm
@@ -1147,11 +1147,23 @@
 	 (keyvals                (runs:dat-keyvals runsdat))
 	 (run-info               (runs:dat-run-info runsdat))
 	 (all-tests-registry     (runs:dat-all-tests-registry runsdat))
 	 (run-limits-info        (runs:dat-can-run-more-tests runsdat))
 	 ;; (runs:can-run-more-tests run-id jobgroup max-concurrent-jobs)) ;; look at the test jobgroup and tot jobs running
-	 (have-resources         (car run-limits-info))
+	 (have-resources         (and (if *journal-stats*
+					  (let* ((dbfname (conc
+							   (dbfile:run-id->dbnum run-id)
+							   ".db"))
+						 (stats (tt:get-journal-stats))
+						 (load  (or (alist-ref dbfname stats equal?) 0)))
+					    (if (> load 0.1) ;; dbs too busy to start more tests
+						(begin
+						 (debug:print-info 0 *default-log-port* "Gating launch due to db load "load" based on journal file observations for "dbfname)
+						 #f)
+						#t))
+					  #t) ;; if journal monitoring not started do not gate
+				      (car run-limits-info)))
 	 (num-running            (list-ref run-limits-info 1))
 	 (num-running-in-jobgroup(list-ref run-limits-info 2)) 
 	 (max-concurrent-jobs    (list-ref run-limits-info 3))
 	 (job-group-limit        (list-ref run-limits-info 4))
 	 ;; (prereqs-not-met        (rmt:get-prereqs-not-met run-id waitons hed item-path mode: testmode itemmaps: itemmaps))

Index: tcp-transportmod.scm
==================================================================
--- tcp-transportmod.scm
+++ tcp-transportmod.scm
@@ -1196,10 +1196,11 @@
     (thread-sleep! (/ (random 1000) 100.0))
     (loop)))
 
 ;; call this to start a thread that is keeping the journal-stats up to date.
 (define (tt:start-stats dbdir)
+  
   (thread-start!
    (make-thread
     (lambda ()(tt:journal-stats-run dbdir)) "Journal stats collection thread")))
 
 (define (tt:get-journal-stats)
@@ -1228,12 +1229,11 @@
     (let ((tot  (min (jstats-count result) 1)) ;; avoid divide by zero
 	  (hits (jstats-jcount result))) ;; 1.db => count
       (hash-table-map
        hits
        (lambda (fname hitcount)
-	 (cons fname (/ hitcount tot)))))
-    ))
+	 (cons fname (/ hitcount tot)))))))
 
 ;; megatest> (import tcp-transportmod)
 ;; megatest> (tt:write-load-tracking ".mtdb")
 ;; megatest> (hash-table-keys *journal-stats*)
 ;; (172060297)