California Vehicle Code §22651.5 authorizes towing cars with alarms sounding over 20 minutes. Riverside County Ordinance No. 847 treats continuous car alarms as a noise nuisance, and Sheriff's Department may cite or tow offending vehicles.
Car alarms in California are regulated primarily by state law. California Vehicle Code §22651.5 allows peace officers to remove a vehicle whose alarm sounds continuously for more than 20 minutes on public property. California Vehicle Code §27007 requires vehicle alarms to automatically deactivate within a reasonable time and prohibits the use of sirens or emergency-vehicle-type sounds. In unincorporated Riverside County, Ordinance No. 847 (Noise) classifies persistent car alarms as a public nuisance subject to abatement. Complaints are handled by the Sheriff's Department for immediate response and Code Enforcement for chronic offenders. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 301 governs alarm manufacturing. Residential alarms repeatedly triggering false alarms may result in citation of the owner under county nuisance rules with fines of $100-$500. Older vehicles with malfunctioning alarms should have them disabled or repaired. HOAs may impose additional rules requiring alarms to be serviced or disabled when unreliable.
Specific penalty amounts for this ordinance are not published in a publicly accessible fine schedule. Contact Riverside County code enforcement directly for current fines, enforcement procedures, and hearing options.
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