Augusta-Richmond County, GA Noise from Specific Sources: Car Alarm Limits (2026)

' The 15-minute clock runs from the moment the alarm activates, not from when a complaint is made, and the exemption is conditional, an alarm that keeps sounding past 15 minutes is no longer protected and can be enforced under the general audibility standards in Sec. 3-6-2(a) (300 feet, daytime/evening) or Sec. 3-6-2(b) (100 feet, overnight), whichever hours apply when the noise continues. The same exemption list separately protects county vehicles on public business (item 1), essential-service utility repairs (item 3), snow equipment (item 4), permitted celebrations and municipally sponsored events (item 5), Augusta Regional and Daniel Field airport noise (item 6), school-sponsored events (item 8), and organized sporting events (item 9), so a car alarm sits alongside a narrow, specifically enumerated set of exceptions rather than a blanket pass for vehicle noise.

Section 3-6-1 still applies to any alarm noise once the 15-minute window closes, defining 'plainly audible' by distance rather than by whether words or tones are intelligible. Section 3-6-4 supplies the penalty for a continuing violation once the exemption lapses.