625 ILCS 5/12-602 requires every motor vehicle to maintain a working muffler and bars excessive or unusual noise; Cook County Chapter 38 layers receiving-land dBA limits on idling delivery trucks. Suburbs add their own loading-dock and idling restrictions enforced by local police.
Illinois Vehicle Code 625 ILCS 5/12-602 requires every motor vehicle, including delivery and freight trucks, to be equipped with a muffler in good working order and prohibits muffler cut-outs or unusual noise. Cook County Chapter 38 environmental control rules and IPCB Part 901 supply property-line dBA limits that reach idling trucks at loading docks. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency idling rule (35 IAC 240) generally caps diesel idling at 10 minutes per 60 minutes, and Cook County and many suburbs prohibit overnight engine-on idling near residential zones. Enforcement is shared by local police (vehicle code), county environmental control (Chapter 38 and Part 901), and IEPA (state idling rule).
Driving a delivery truck with a defective or modified muffler violates 625 ILCS 5/12-602 (petty offense, fines up to $500). Idling beyond IEPA limits or exceeding Chapter 38 dBA caps brings county environmental control fines.
See how Arlington Heights's delivery truck noise rules stack up against other locations.
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