Old Bridge, NJ Noise from Specific Sources: Car Alarm Limits (2026)

Section 300-4E of the Old Bridge Township Noise Code applies to any exterior burglar alarm, whether mounted on a building or a motor vehicle, anywhere within the Township. Once triggered, the alarm must be wired or set to terminate on its own: within five minutes if it produces continuous airborne sound, or within 15 minutes if it produces impulsive sound, defined at § 300-1 as a single pressure peak or burst lasting less than one second. The chapter, adopted by Ordinance No. 2010-05, applies to sound from residential, commercial, industrial, and motor vehicle sources under § 300-2A, and the Old Bridge Township Police are designated the enforcing agency under § 300-3A, with authority to investigate and pursue violations and to refer disputes requiring sound-level measurement to the Middlesex County Health Department under § 300-3B(6).

A car or house alarm that resets and keeps sounding past the five- or fifteen-minute window is a separate, ongoing violation of the chapter rather than a one-time incident, and each day or triggering event that a violation continues can be charged as its own separate offense under § 1-4. Because Chapter 300 does not set its own fine schedule, a conviction defaults to the Code-wide maximum penalty in § 1-3: a fine of up to $1,250, up to 90 days of imprisonment, up to 90 days of community service, or any combination of the three, though § 1-5 lets the Municipal Court impose a lesser or even nominal penalty when warranted.