Colonie, NY Noise from Specific Sources: Car Alarm Limits (2026)

Town Code §135-6C states flatly that no person shall allow noise from an automobile alarm in excess of five minutes after it has been activated, a stand-alone rule inside the chapter's motor-vehicle section. A related exception in Article III softens that line for infrequent problems: §135-8F exempts noise from a burglar alarm on any building or motor vehicle, provided the alarm terminates its operation within five minutes after activation, and even lets an alarm run past five minutes without penalty if there have been fewer than three such incidents involving the building or motor vehicle within the previous 12 months.

Read together, the two sections mean a car owner isn't automatically cited the first or second time a glitchy alarm runs long, but a pattern of three or more prolonged incidents in a year strips the exemption and exposes the vehicle's owner to enforcement under the general noise prohibitions. The Town of Colonie Police Department enforces both sections (§135-9), and because the underlying conduct is the alarm's own operation, a neighbor's complaint documenting the time the alarm sounded is typically what triggers a citation.