East Orange, NJ Noise from Specific Sources: Car Alarm Limits (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- East Orange City Code § 184-1B
- Prohibited act
- Horn or alarm sounded on a parked vehicle
- Enforcing agency
- East Orange Police Department
- First offense
- Written warning after investigation
- Second warning
- Device impounded, court summons issued
- Maximum penalty
- $2,000 fine or 90 days, § 1-15A
Summary
In the City of East Orange, City Code Section 184-1B makes it unlawful to sound a horn, alarm or other signal device on a parked automobile, motorcycle or bus except as a genuine danger signal or to warn that the vehicle is about to move. The East Orange Police Department enforces this rule under the citywide noise ordinance, Chapter 184, and repeated activations escalate from a written warning to impoundment of the device itself.
The sounding of any horn or signal device on any automobile, motorcycle, bus, train or other vehicle while not in motion, except as a danger signal or to give warning of intent to get into motion or, if in motion, only as a danger signal after or as brakes are being applied and decelerating of the vehicle has begun; the creation by means of such signal devices of any unreasonably loud or harsh sounds; and the sounding of any signal device for any unreasonable or unnecessary period of time.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 184 opens by declaring any "excessive, unnecessary or unusually loud noise" that disturbs the comfort, health, repose, peace or safety of others in East Orange unlawful, whether it comes from a premises, a vehicle or a public street. Subsection 184-1B zeroes in on horns, alarms and other signal devices: sounding one on a car, motorcycle, bus or train that is not moving is prohibited unless it is a genuine danger signal, a warning that the vehicle is about to pull out, or, if already moving, a danger signal tied to braking.
The same subsection separately bars a signal device from producing "unreasonably loud or harsh sounds" or sounding "for any unreasonable or unnecessary period of time," language that reaches a car alarm left blaring after it triggers. Section 184-2 carves out narrow exceptions for church bells and chimes, emergency vehicles, and school or civic performances, plus events covered by a parade permit issued by the Public Officer. Enforcement runs through Section 184-3: the East Orange Police Department issues a written warning after investigating a complaint, and if two warnings go to the same residence, the Department may impound the noise-producing device on the spot and issue a summons requiring a court appearance before the owner can retrieve it.
A conviction for any Chapter 184 violation is punished under the Code's general penalty, Section 1-15A, a fine of not less than $100 and not more than $2,000, up to 90 days of imprisonment, or up to 90 days of community service.
Violations & Fines
A first complaint brings only a written warning from the East Orange Police Department. A second warning to the same residence triggers impoundment of the horn or alarm-producing device and a summons ordering a court appearance to reclaim it. Any resulting conviction carries the Code's general penalty under Section 1-15A: a fine between $100 and $2,000, up to 90 days in jail, or up to 90 days of community service, with each day of a continuing violation counted separately.
Frequently Asked Questions
My neighbor's car alarm keeps going off. Is that against East Orange's ordinance?
Can the police take my car alarm on the first complaint?
Is honking my horn to warn of danger still allowed?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in East Orange
Compare East Orange to another location·View the New Jersey noise from specific sources overview
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