Tamarac, FL Noise from Specific Sources: Car Alarm Limits (2026)

Section 9-87 of the City of Tamarac Code lists acts declared unlawful noise per se, meaning code compliance or the Broward Sheriff's Office need not measure a sound level to prove a violation; the acts themselves are the offense. The first enumerated act targets vehicle horns: sounding a horn or signal device on any automobile, motorcycle, bus or other vehicle while it is not in motion, for more than ten consecutive seconds, when the sound is plainly audible from the property of another. The section carves out two narrow exceptions.

A horn used as a danger signal because another vehicle is approaching apparently out of control is exempt regardless of duration. A horn sounded while the vehicle is in motion is exempt only when used as a danger signal tied to braking, meaning after or as the brakes are applied and deceleration is intended, so a driver leaning on the horn while rolling through a stop is not protected. Plainly audible is defined in Sec. 9-86(c) as any sound a reasonable person of ordinary sensitivities can detect unaided from fifteen feet or from a neighboring property; no decibel meter is used.

This provision sits within Article III, Noise, whose stated intent under Sec. 9-86(a) is to prevent noise that degrades quality of life and jeopardizes health, safety and welfare. Enforcement runs through Sec. 9-95: a citizen must sign a sworn statement to trigger an investigation, though a law enforcement or code enforcement officer may also cite a violation independently observed. Alleged violations go before the special magistrate under Article III.